Combination of solar thermal power generation with thermal power generation, smart grid and superconducting technology

Integration with thermal power technology

"Solar thermal power generation technology can not only be built independently, but also can be built in combination with thermal power plants. This is particularly meaningful for China," said Shi Dinghuan, "because China has a high-carbon energy structure, with 70% to 80% of its electricity generation relying on coal-fired thermal power."

Huaneng Group, which mainly produces thermal power, is currently carrying out a demonstration project of solar power plants and thermal power plants in Hainan. "When choosing a technical route, we mainly consider two aspects. One is wind resistance. In places with abundant solar energy resources in China, the wind is usually strong, so the power generation system must be wind-resistant. The second is to be able to directly generate steam, so that it is easy to connect with the existing thermal power generation system." Xu Haiwei, an engineer at the Clean Energy Technology Research Institute of China Huaneng Group, said, "We have piloted the connection between a solar thermal power generation system with water/steam as the medium and a thermal power plant, and next year we will also launch a solar thermal power generation system with steam and molten salt as the medium."

Integration with smart grid

The distributed system in solar thermal power generation technology can also be combined with technologies such as smart grids and cloud computing to open up new paths for the large-scale application of solar energy. Kai Strenz is the director and professor of the Department of Power Grids and New Energy at the Technical University of Berlin. He talked about Germany's experience in demand-based management using smart grids at the seminar: "25% of Germany's electricity comes from renewable energy such as wind power. Demand-based management overcomes the defect of unstable power generation from renewable energy. Through smart meters, we have flexibly adjusted electricity prices by time period, thereby adjusting the Germans' electricity consumption habits and distributing part of the electricity demand during peak hours to lower hours. This method has enabled us to increase electricity supply by 14%."

Combination with superconducting technology

Land is scarce in the eastern and southern parts of my country, and solar energy resources are not as abundant as those in the western and northern parts. Large-scale solar thermal power generation systems should be built in the western and northern parts, but the eastern and southern parts are the most densely populated areas in my country with the greatest demand for electricity. Renewable energy sources such as wind power and hydropower also have similar problems of long distances between the power supply site and the power consumption site, which means that we need long-distance power transmission of an average of about 3,000 kilometers. The power loss caused by long-distance power transmission is astonishing, which will further weaken the market competitiveness of renewable energy. Therefore, the combination of solar thermal power generation technology and the new generation of power transmission technology has become an inevitable trend.

"I suggest that China use superconducting materials in its future power transmission technology," said Carlo Rubbia. "Superconducting technology has made new breakthroughs - new sandwich-type superconductor materials, which are low-cost and can achieve superconducting transitions at higher temperatures. Although they have not yet been put into industrial production, they are a hope worth looking forward to."

Li Baoshan, vice president and secretary general of the China Renewable Energy Society, said: "China is developing the second generation of superconducting tapes. An aluminum plant in Henan is conducting a superconducting power transmission experiment. If successful, it will not only bring huge benefits to the development of solar and wind power, but also to the west-to-east power transmission of the entire country."