What experts say about the road to energy internet

China Energy Storage Network News: The 2016 Energy Internet Summit was held in Beijing on August 31. With the theme of "New Industry, New Opportunities, New Development", the summit was based on an international perspective and focused on Chinese issues. In-depth exchanges were conducted on topics such as new opportunities, new patterns, new standards, new trends in the energy Internet, and new developments in cross-border interconnection of power grids. Special topics such as new opportunities for the deep integration of energy and information technology, new industries for smart energy use, and new developments in clean energy trading were elaborated in detail. The conference was attended by many big names, including more than 300 leaders of government industry departments, leaders of relevant local governments, leaders of key energy Internet enterprises and heads of relevant departments, leaders of national industry societies, associations and large scientific research institutes. Li Fanrong, Deputy Director of the National Energy Administration, and He Xiqiang, Deputy General Manager of China Southern Power Grid Corporation, attended the meeting. Wang Min, Deputy General Manager of State Grid Corporation, attended the meeting and delivered a keynote speech. In addition, Han Yingduo, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and Director of the Power Electronics Engineering Center of Tsinghua University, and Fan Bi, Inspector of the State Council's Research and Comprehensive Department, and other industry big names also delivered wonderful speeches at the summit. This article excerpts representative views as follows:

Inspector of the Research and General Affairs Department of the State Council - Fan Bi

Fan Bi: What are the characteristics of the energy Internet? The Internet has added many things, so why is it not so easy to add energy? The existing energy system is not yet well adapted to the connection with the Internet. The suppliers of electricity, oil, gas, and heat in the energy industry are concentrated in two categories: one is the power grid company, and the other is the oil and gas company. Whether it is a power grid company or an oil and gas company, it is the main body of electricity purchase and sale. Its business model is also a franchise, mainly state-owned, and there is no full competition in the Internet world. It is not that every motor has an IP address and it is called the Internet. This is not that simple. The Internet has reformed the world, but it has not changed China's energy. Foreign energy has changed a little, but it has not changed completely. Mainly from the following aspects.

From the perspective of production methods: the Internet world's production methods are small-scale distributed, and its manufacturing methods include intelligent manufacturing, virtual manufacturing, and green manufacturing. In the Internet world, our innovation cycle is getting shorter and shorter. Energy is far from realizing the Internet world's production methods. Whether it is electricity or oil and gas, in general, it is a large-scale centralized, standardized production, and then transported over long distances, factory-made, and technology updates are slow.

From the perspective of distribution method: At present, China's energy is still distributed in the traditional and original way, with variable prices determined by national measurement and national planning. In the Internet era, it is no longer a fixed distribution, but a free reservation. Enterprises can continuously stimulate and encourage consumption through various mechanisms, thus breaking through the traditional constraints of energy distribution.

From the perspective of transaction methods: Due to the Internet, a phenomenon called payment for energy has emerged. Take electricity, for example. Internet + electricity is now available. You can buy electricity online, but buying electricity is a little different. "Let's say that the electricity you buy is all electricity at the same time. Strictly speaking, the electricity I buy at different times and from different power sources should have different prices. Do you have the right to choose? You don't have the right to choose." At present, in the energy sector, after adding the Internet, it seems that not much has changed. Although we have added the Internet to the energy world, we have not yet reduced the cost of energy, and in terms of the scale of transactions, the industry has not seen the same blowout development as Internet finance and the entire e-commerce.

From the perspective of consumption methods: consumption in the Internet world is personalized, customized, and has no boundaries. However, the energy world as a whole still has a unified standard, and energy consumption is also within a certain regional range. Long-distance consumption is still impossible. The supply side of the energy industry is highly concentrated.

Shi Yubo: In the next five years, the energy internet will maintain rapid growth. 2016 is the first year of the 13th Five-Year Plan. During the 13th Five-Year Plan, we should actively build a smart energy system, promote the deep integration of new technologies in the fields of energy and information, coordinate the construction of energy and infrastructure networks such as communications and transportation, and build an energy internet with coordinated development, integrated complementarity of "source-grid-load-storage". In the next five years, the development of my country's energy internet industry is expected to maintain a growth rate of 18.5%. At present, global energy development is driven by both consumption structure and technological development. Many developed countries have explored and practiced energy internet and achieved outstanding results. Among them, the United States, with the technical support of electricity, electronics, high-speed digital communications and distributed control, has promoted the construction of a smart star grid architecture, and achieved efficient energy utilization and compatibility with renewable energy through comprehensive control of energy production, transportation and consumption.

The development of China's energy internet must break through the bottleneck of renewable energy development and the limited demand for distributed energy. The National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration have issued guidance opinions and multiple supporting documents on the development of smart energy this year, promoting enterprise transformation through the principles and guidance of industrial policies. At the same time, the development path of the energy internet industry is not smooth sailing, and there are still some problems: the specific concept and connotation of the energy internet need to reach a broad consensus through further exploration and practice; the relevant reform measures and support policies need to be further implemented and clarified; technical means need to be continuously improved; and the exploration and establishment of a business model need to be further tested by the market.

Han Yingduo, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and director of the Power Electronics Engineering Center of Tsinghua University

Han Yingduo: The "blowout" of energy Internet is bound to emerge. It is undeniable that my country's power development has made great achievements in the past 40 years, and its power consumption far exceeds that of developed countries, but power production and consumption need to be revolutionized. The transformation of energy Internet can be started from different angles. On the demand management side, it is mainly monitoring. If every power sales area adopts energy Internet, the efficiency will be greatly improved. Multiple entrances, multiple demands, adapting to local conditions, and letting a hundred flowers bloom, but the same path all return to the Internet. Energy Internet is an extension and an important part of smart grid. Smart grid is to use modern advanced computer communication network and sensor control technology to the maximum extent in electricity, improve equipment efficiency, safety and reliability, save energy and reduce emissions, and improve users' power supply quality and renewable energy utilization rate. The evaluation standard of energy Internet depends on benefits, not scale. Large scale does not mean leading, the real benefits are the key. As an emerging industry, energy Internet has a strong internal and external driving force. Once demonstrated, the "blowout" situation is bound to emerge.

The impact of the combination of energy storage and solar energy technology in the field of power distribution and power generation is comparable to the disruptive impact caused by the Internet. The impact of energy Internet on energy production and consumption is also disruptive. This is a forward-looking technology and industry. my country's energy and sales structure is being created, and the energy industry is facing unprecedented opportunities. At the same time, entrepreneurs are reminded to be careful, which also indicates that many traditional industries will be disrupted and eliminated.