Application for Energy Internet Demonstration Project Officially Launched

China Energy Storage Network News : Following the joint release of the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Development of "Internet +" Smart Energy" (hereinafter referred to as the "Guiding Opinions") by three ministries in February this year, the National Energy Administration recently issued the "Notice on Organizing and Implementing the "Internet +" Smart Energy (Energy Internet) Demonstration Project" (National Energy Technology [2016] No. 200, hereinafter referred to as the "Notice") in the form of an urgent document, thus taking another step forward on the journey of energy Internet.

In line with industry expectations

The Guiding Opinions issued in February clearly stated that the project will be promoted in two phases in the near and medium term: pilot demonstrations will be carried out from 2016 to 2018, and subsequent promotion and application will be carried out from 2019 to 2025. Ten key tasks were also proposed. This has opened up a huge space for imagination of the energy internet, and all sectors of society are looking forward to the implementation of pilot demonstration projects.

During the interview, Zeng Ming, director of the Energy Internet Research Center of North China Electric Power University, introduced that since the release of the "Guiding Opinions", the National Energy Administration has been making preparations, conducting research, organizing expert discussions, and ultimately determining the specific pilot types, and communicating with the Ministry of Finance and other relevant ministries and commissions on relevant policy issues.

On June 24, at the regular policy briefing held by the State Council Information Office, Li Ye, chief economist of the National Energy Administration, introduced the relevant situation of the "Internet +" smart energy action plan. Li Zhi said that from 2016 to 2018, the focus will be on promoting the pilot demonstration of energy Internet, and the relevant implementation plan will be issued soon. "It is mainly to encourage the expansion of effective investment in the energy field and clarify some roadmaps and timetables for the construction of pilot demonstration projects. According to the information we have, various regions are very active and enthusiastic, and many projects are eager to try."

In the eyes of the industry, the timing of the release of the Notice and the content of the pilot program are in line with industry expectations. "It is being carried out step by step according to the established steps. Previously, the industry generally expected it to be released in early August," Chen Qixin, deputy director of the Tsinghua University Energy Internet Innovation Institute, told reporters.

The "Notice" that the industry has been looking forward to not only marks the beginning of the acceleration of the implementation of the energy Internet and "promotes the acceleration of pilot projects and the entry into the stage of specific demonstration", but is also promoting structural reforms in the energy field.

"The Notice should be viewed in the context of the overall electricity reform, energy revolution and economic transformation. The entire Notice reflects the response to the technical level (energy internet) and institutional level (energy system reform) in the energy revolution, and guides the energy revolution from the macro institutional level to the micro mechanism level, and achieves the purpose of improving the quality and efficiency, sustainable development and model expansion of pilot demonstration projects." Yang Jincheng, chief engineer of Shanghai Putian Zhongke Energy Technology Co., Ltd., said in an interview with reporters, "At the same time, it promotes traditional energy companies to transform from the original conventional and single business service model to a model that directly faces user needs and provides comprehensive services, encourages traditional companies to explore and innovate businesses, and accelerates energy and Internet companies to try to integrate through pilot demonstrations, which not only accelerates industrial integration and transformation, but also reduces transformation costs and risks."

Demonstration types cover a wide range

The Notice clearly states that we should "make full use of Internet means, be market-oriented, and focus on enterprises to explore the economic, environmental and social benefits brought about by the deep integration of the Internet with energy systems and energy markets, and carry out pilot demonstrations of energy Internet of different types and scales. We should create an open and inclusive energy Internet ecological environment, encourage the broad participation of the public, stimulate the vitality of mass innovation, and drive the development of new technologies, new models and new formats of energy Internet."

The Notice covers two categories: comprehensive pilot demonstration of energy internet and pilot demonstration of typical innovative models. "It covers both comprehensive and typical model innovation, and covers various pilot types and operation models of energy internet described in the Guiding Opinions," said Chen Qixin. Specifically, the former includes park energy internet pilot demonstration, urban energy internet comprehensive demonstration zone, and cross-regional multi-energy collaboration, while the latter includes energy internet pilot demonstration based on electric vehicles, energy internet pilot demonstration based on flexible resources, energy internet pilot demonstration based on smart energy use, energy internet pilot demonstration based on green energy flexible trading, and energy internet pilot demonstration based on industry integration.

"It not only aims to solve the existing wind and solar power curtailment and multi-energy complementarity, but also encourages the coordinated consideration of energy with urban planning, construction and transportation. It embodies the characteristics of taking into account actual needs, focusing on guiding open models and cultivating industrial management concepts." Yang Jincheng believes.

"The two types of demonstration projects are both mandatory for the energy internet pilot projects, which shows the government's fair and impartial attitude towards them," Zeng Ming told reporters. "Of course, these demonstration projects are not all carried out in parallel. We need to arrange the pilot demonstration projects according to the local conditions, power grid conditions, economic development conditions and other actual conditions."

Policies will continue to follow up

A careful reading of the "Notice" reveals that although the main body of the "Notice" does not set specific evaluation standards, the text template of the application materials attachment requires a full explanation of the technical characteristics and social benefits of the energy Internet, such as emphasizing operational management and business models, and proposing energy trading and settlement mechanism recommendations.

In terms of organization and implementation, the Notice proposes five aspects: demonstration project application, demonstration project confirmation, demonstration project construction, demonstration project supervision and related policies. Among them, demonstration project supervision and related policies are the focus of the industry.

In Yang Jincheng's view, the "Notice" proposed a full-process supervision mechanism of comprehensive review, continuous guidance and post-evaluation, forming a closed-loop feedback mechanism, improving the error correction ability of pilot demonstration projects, and the decision-making support role of pilot demonstrations in relevant policy formulation. However, the relevant standards and processes are not clear, and are not linked to policy and financial support, which will have a certain impact on the supervision effect of pilot demonstrations. At the same time, the inconsistency of organizations and participants at different stages of the entire supervision process will bring problems in ideas and work connection.

The Notice explains the relevant policies as follows: "The National Energy Administration, together with relevant departments of the State Council, will include energy internet demonstration projects in major project packages, increase support from central budget funds and special construction funds, and study and improve supporting policies such as investment, financing, taxation, and pricing during the construction and operation of demonstration projects. Local governments are encouraged to formulate policy measures to support the construction and operation of energy internet in light of local conditions."

Although some principles of support have been clarified, "the specific support methods, especially the amount of funds, are not particularly clear. They may be adjusted based on the actual application situation, taking into account different sources and types of funds," Chen Qixin believes.

Zeng Ming believes that there is no specific plan for encouraging policies and funding arrangements at present, "but the principle plan has been made clear, and we will coordinate with various ministries to formulate policies. Since we want to pilot it, there must be policy encouragement, and the specific decision will be made based on the application situation."

Li Ye said at the regular policy briefing held by the State Council Information Office on June 24, "It is expected that this year, according to incomplete statistics, it will bring at least more than 40 billion yuan of investment. At the same time, the National Development and Reform Commission has also arranged 300-400 million yuan of special construction funds in this field, and will provide certain support for the first (set) and relatively important R&D demonstration projects."

According to the reporter, although the "Notice" has just been issued, many companies are already gearing up and starting to prepare application materials.