GCL Smart Energy: Be the pioneer and leader of energy Internet

China Energy Storage Network News : The 2016 First Energy Internet Leaders Forum and the Energy Internet Most Influential Pioneer Enterprise Award Ceremony with the theme of "Leading Energy and Promoting Interconnection" were held in Beijing recently. At the meeting, GCL Smart Energy won the honor of the Most Influential Pioneer Enterprise of Energy Internet. Why focus on energy Internet? What are the advantages? What explorations and practices does GCL Smart Energy have? Around these questions, the reporter interviewed Niu Shubin, vice president of Smart Energy.

Relying on its own advantages to promote energy interconnection

China Energy News: GCL Smart Energy is one of the earliest companies to enter the energy Internet. What are the considerations behind its development of the energy Internet?

Niu Shubin: The energy revolution faces three major contradictions: the first is the contradiction between energy supply and social demand; the second is the contradiction between energy supply and environmental degradation governance; and the third is the contradiction between modern human lifestyle and energy conservation and emission reduction. According to relevant estimates, to ensure development in the next 100 years, all resources will require three more Earths.

This raises four issues that need to be addressed in the energy revolution: How to maximize the use of clean energy, renewable energy and new energy? How to maximize the efficiency of comprehensive energy utilization? How to minimize energy costs? How to maximize the impact of the energy industry on national economic development? These will be long-term issues in the economic society and energy. Based on the thinking and understanding of the above issues, GCL proposed the concept and practice of smart energy.

China Energy News: What are the advantages of GCL Group in energy internet?

Niu Shubin: GCL Group currently has five major sectors: photovoltaic manufacturing, photovoltaic materials, photovoltaic power generation, smart energy, and finance. It is the world's largest photovoltaic materials producer and China's largest mixed-ownership power investor.

GCL's characteristic is that the entire energy industry spans a wide range. First, there are many categories of business, including manufacturing and energy investment, traditional energy and new energy, as well as the service industry, etc. In China's energy industry, GCL's clean energy installed capacity accounts for more than 80%, and photovoltaic, wind power, natural gas, and garbage biomass power generation installed capacity account for more than 80% of GCL's total power installed capacity.

In addition, as an energy service provider, GCL has the largest number of users. GCL mainly provides combined heat and power, with more than 1,000 industrial users in more than 30 development zones across the country. At the same time, as one of the first domestic first-level demand-side management companies, it currently has a management capacity of 7 million kilowatts and has accumulated experience in serving front-line customers. GCL's vision is to continue to provide high-quality energy and services, improve the living environment of mankind, and bring green energy into life.

GCL model completely changes the energy status quo

China Energy News: In the exploration of energy Internet, GCL is a fast-growing company and has formed its own model. Can you introduce it?

Niu Shubin: The model of GCL Energy Internet can be summarized as one core, two concepts, two models, and three platforms. One core is source, network, sales, use, and cloud, providing users with all-round integrated "Internet +" smart energy comprehensive services from the beginning to the end; the two concepts are the eight transformations of energy development and the Energy 4.0 system; the two models are GCL's four regional energy Internet models and eight micro-energy network models; at the same time, in order to realize these models, three platforms, namely the technical platform, the Internet platform, and the financial platform, have been initially built.

Taking advantage of GCL's advantages in clean energy and the advantages of heating and power grids in some regions, we will jointly provide users with comprehensive, all-round energy use, energy conservation and energy services, as well as comprehensive energy data services. This is the overall strategy for the development of GCL Energy Internet.

China Energy News: What exactly do the eight transformations in energy development and the Energy 4.0 system refer to?

Niu Shubin: In line with the direction of supply-side reform, we have proposed eight changes in energy development and application. In terms of development direction, we will shift from traditional energy to clean energy, and from a dual system to a single system. We will break the constraints of traditional energy supply and vigorously develop clean and renewable energy; we will change the current situation of separation of energy production and consumption, and realize direct supply of energy and local consumption.

In terms of development methods, the existing centralized energy supply model will be changed from centralized supply to distributed supply, and from giant energy to micro energy.

In terms of energy types, we will move from single energy to multi-energy coupling, and from non-renewable to renewable. We will support the national energy internet strategy and vigorously develop and apply renewable energy, multi-energy coordinated microgrids, and battery energy storage technologies.

In terms of business philosophy, we have changed from supply to service, from professional products to mass products. On the basis of the traditional supply side that only supplies energy, we have transformed into supplying comprehensive energy service products, turning energy from an industry commodity into a mass commodity that everyone can invest in.

We have divided the energy supply situation since entering the industrial age and put forward the concept of Energy 4.0. From the black gold era dominated by coal to the low-carbon era with an increasing proportion of natural gas, and then to the new energy era with an increasing proportion of wind and solar power. Now is the era of Energy 4.0. We must comprehensively use advanced power electronics technology, information technology and intelligent management technology, build new power grids, steam pipelines, and natural gas pipelines, and interconnect energy, information, and finance. This is also our simple explanation of the Energy Internet.

Exploring energy interconnection through practice

China Energy News: Could you briefly introduce the successful cases of energy Internet in which GCL Smart Energy is currently involved?

Niu Shubin: Let me briefly introduce two types. One is mainly based on industrial parks, such as Suzhou Industrial Park, where industrial load accounts for 70% of the country, with large peak-to-valley differences, intensive energy use, and high energy intensity. Based on the reality that local renewable energy is relatively scarce and the variety of heat is relatively complete, we use natural gas distributed energy center + rooftop photovoltaic + distributed energy + electric vehicles + industrial demand management. This park has been built for more than ten years and has been operating well so far.

More than 80% of industrial users in Suzhou Industrial Park participate in our demand-side management. This year, among the 3.6 million kilowatts of demand-side response in Jiangsu, GCL Smart Energy's demand management accounted for more than 15%. The entire industrial park has a capacity of 2 million kilowatts, and basically all loads are controlled through adjustments to gas turbines and the demand side.

In rural areas, land resources are relatively abundant, renewable energy is relatively abundant, especially agriculture and breeding, energy consumption is relatively scattered, the cost of building pipelines is high, and the load density is low. Our approach is to build a green circular town concept, through large-scale livestock farms in rural areas, through waste such as manure, sewage, and cow dung, the high calorific value biogas collected through technical treatment is transported to local biogas boilers for combustion and power generation, and at the same time complement each other with various forms such as fishery photovoltaic power generation and agricultural photovoltaic power generation, forming a clean and pollution-free multi-energy combination, and realizing the multi-energy complementary business model of modern towns.

China Energy News: Is this included in the four scenarios of GCL regional energy internet?

Niu Shubin: Yes, GCL's four regional energy Internet models include smart city energy Internet, ecological park energy Internet, green rural energy Internet, and zero-carbon home energy Internet. The ones I just mentioned are smart city energy Internet and green rural energy Internet.

In addition, there are eight energy microgrid models, all of which have specific operational projects. The eight energy microgrid models and operational projects include R&D institutions (ITRI six-in-one energy microgrid), industrial enterprises (Wuxi Meicun microgrid, Wujiang Yongxiang alcohol renewable distributed energy station), urban areas (Jinji Lake distributed energy project), green homes (Sinoma Green Town distributed energy project), public services (Ruijin Hospital Wuxi Branch Natural Gas Distributed Energy Project), data centers (Suzhou Telecom GCL Haitang Street Data Center Microgrid Project), rural agriculture (Baoying biogas distributed energy project, Shanghai Chongming Island biogas project), and mobile energy supply (mobile gas trigeneration).