Energy Internet is of great significance to photovoltaic grid parity

China Energy Storage Network: Driven by the national strategy of implementing low-carbon development and energy revolution in China, renewable energy has experienced rapid development in recent years, but it is also facing increasingly severe challenges. For example, the full guaranteed purchase policy required by the Renewable Energy Law has not been fully implemented, the renewable energy priority dispatch policy has been greatly impacted by fossil energy and local government interference, there are serious power abandonment problems, and renewable energy subsidy policy issues are prominent. China has pledged to increase the proportion of non-fossil energy in the energy structure to 15% by 2020, while it was only 9.6% at the end of 2015. In order to achieve this goal and promote the healthy development of renewable energy, it is urgent to think about effective measures to solve the above problems.

Renewable energy grid parity means that the price of renewable energy electricity transmitted to the power grid is the same as that of thermal power (or hydropower). The cost of renewable energy power generation is higher than that of traditional energy. Although the cost of renewable energy per kilowatt-hour has been decreasing year by year in recent years, it still has no competitive advantage compared with traditional power sources such as thermal power. This is one of the main reasons why renewable energy is currently difficult to replace traditional energy.

The 13th Five-Year Plan for Renewable Energy clearly states that by 2020, wind power will achieve grid parity on the grid side, and photovoltaic power will achieve grid parity on the user side. In order to achieve grid parity for renewable energy as soon as possible, relevant institutions and enterprises in my country have made a lot of efforts. As of the end of 2016, the benchmark grid-connected electricity prices for new energy, including wind power and photovoltaic power, have undergone major adjustments, with the goal of gradually reducing the subsidy level as industrial technology advances, until the subsidy is cancelled. At the same time, some large state-owned and private enterprises have increased their investment in technology research and development, improved production technology and operational management, and the product quality and production efficiency advantages brought about by intelligent production upgrades and independent intellectual property rights have effectively reduced the cost of renewable energy generation. Although the decline in the cost of renewable energy generation is also closely related to the previous overcapacity, the progress of renewable energy technology in my country in recent years is indeed a fact.

In the long run, if we want to achieve grid parity for renewable energy as soon as possible, it is far from enough to rely solely on reducing the cost of enterprises themselves. Under the new form of industrial development in which the Internet is deeply integrated with energy production, transmission, storage, consumption and energy market, the construction of energy Internet has become one of the important ways for my country to implement energy revolution. The grid access of renewable energy must also rely on the construction and development of energy Internet to efficiently develop new technologies and new models, realize intelligent production operation and supervision, and thus achieve grid parity while promoting the large-scale and market-oriented development of renewable energy.

The important role of energy Internet in promoting the grid parity of renewable energy is mainly reflected in the following aspects.

First, the Energy Internet can achieve large-scale access, utilization and sharing of renewable energy, especially distributed renewable energy, which is the basic condition for promoting the large-scale development of renewable energy and grid parity. The Energy Internet has a highly integrated feature and can interconnect micro-energy networks composed of various types of renewable distributed power generation equipment, energy storage equipment and load equipment, and realize the "plug and play, plug and store, plug and use" and indiscriminate peer-to-peer interconnection of the above equipment. At the same time, the Energy Internet can achieve coordinated optimization control between various types of distributed renewable power sources, energy storage equipment and controllable loads. Achieve "horizontal source-source complementarity, vertical source-grid-load-storage coordinated control" to smooth the impact of the intermittent characteristics of distributed renewable energy on the local power grid. While ensuring the economy and safety of the system, further improve the system's ability to absorb distributed renewable energy.

Second, the energy internet can promote the intelligent production of renewable energy, and promote technological progress and industrial upgrading. Renewable energy companies can make full use of Internet technology and information to establish a monitoring, management and dispatching information network for renewable energy production and operation, strengthen the information connection and intelligent production and consumption of upstream and downstream enterprises in the renewable energy industry chain, and support the coordinated operation of renewable energy companies and power grids. At the same time, big data technology can be used to analyze, mine and predict data such as equipment status and power load, carry out precise dispatching, fault diagnosis and predictive maintenance, and improve energy utilization efficiency and safe and stable operation levels. Renewable energy companies can also rely on the Internet to form a systematic and open enterprise innovation research and application system, coordinate technology and product innovation work, integrate new technologies, new resources and talents to form a dynamic technology research and development and innovation center, and improve production and operation efficiency and develop new technologies through intelligent integration, thereby reducing costs and promoting renewable energy parity access to the grid.

Third, cultivating the market model of renewable energy network trading is conducive to the market construction of renewable energy access to the grid. The uncertainty and instability of renewable energy products themselves make them have certain risks in the market. Building a market mechanism and trading model that can mitigate the corresponding risks and a certain degree of high prices is the key to renewable energy access to the grid and market construction at a parity price. This is the only way to change the original renewable energy access to the grid through fiscal subsidies. The data technology and computing technology of the energy Internet give it a natural advantage in cultivating and developing renewable energy network trading models. New and appropriate trading models can enable renewable energy to achieve optimal resource allocation at market trading prices in a market environment. For example, building an Internet-based renewable energy flexible trading platform to support point-to-point transactions between renewable energy such as wind power, photovoltaics, and hydropower and power users, and providing differentiated renewable energy packages for different user groups; creating special renewable energy financial products, and cultivating new forms of energy production, consumption, and trading such as third-party operation and maintenance and point-to-point energy services.

Fourth, the energy internet is conducive to the integration of renewable energy transmission, distribution, storage and transportation, and reduces the cost of energy transportation. The establishment of the energy internet can reduce the intermediate channels of energy transportation and reduce the cost of multi-channel transportation. The intermediate links from one place to another for energy are greatly reduced, and the front-end production and terminal demand are seamlessly connected, which reduces the overall transportation cost of energy, which is conducive to the parity of renewable energy access to the grid, especially when the proportion of renewable energy consumption increases. The energy internet will also bring about great changes in the way of energy configuration. The long-distance power configuration mode will gradually change, and the power configuration mode of distributed energy and load balance on the spot will gradually become one of the dominant ways of energy configuration, which is also very helpful for reducing the cost of energy transportation. In addition, the most effective way to use renewable energy is to convert it into electricity and realize optimized configuration, efficient transmission and convenient use through large power grids. The technical breakthroughs and construction foundation of ultra-high voltage, smart grid and active distribution network in the energy internet make it a basic carrier for the efficient development and utilization of renewable energy, which also helps to reduce the cost of energy transportation.

In the process of promoting the grid parity of renewable energy by relying on the construction of energy internet, we should pay special attention to the cultivation of renewable energy market mechanism and trading model. We need to conduct research on relevant issues as soon as possible, select typical models to carry out pilot projects based on Internet technology, establish a sensitive and efficient market price response, and make the market mechanism play a real role in the grid parity of renewable energy. At the same time, we should strengthen the revision of renewable energy laws and regulations and the responsibilities and implementation of relevant market supervision departments as soon as possible. Any reform should be carried out smoothly and effectively under the premise of sound laws and regulations and strong supervision.