Obstacles to the development of energy internet: lack of supervision, lagging standards, and immature business models

China Energy Storage Network News: The Second Energy Internet and “Belt and Road” Summit Forum 2017 (EIS) was grandly held in Shanghai on September 21.

The following is a panel discussion brought to you by the Electric Power Headlines APP, where the guests discussed relevant issues in the process of the Energy Internet project:

Moderator: Li Feng, Assistant to the Chairman, Chaowei Power Co., Ltd.

Panelists:

Zhang Qing, Deputy General Manager, China Resources Power (Guangdong) Company

Ai Chunmei, Head of Energy Internet Demonstration Project, Shanghai Electric Power Co., Ltd.

Zhu Zhenpeng, Vice Chairman, Beijing Beibian Microgrid Technology Co., Ltd.

Qiao Xiaolin, Deputy Secretary General, Shanghai Smart Energy Internet Industry Alliance

Yang Chongwei, Deputy Chief Engineer, Shanghai Kunlun ENN Clean Energy Co., Ltd.

[Host]: Welcome the four guests. First, please give a cutting-edge self-introduction, each within one minute.

[Qiao Xiaolin]: Hello, everyone. I am Qiao Xiaolin from the Shanghai Smart Energy Internet Industry Alliance. Senior executives from the State Grid and Shanghai's Science and Technology Commission and Development and Reform Commission have all participated in our summit. So we are the government, enterprises, universities, and enterprises from all aspects of the entire industrial chain to carry out such a large-scale integration and cooperation of the energy Internet. I also hope to have the opportunity to have in-depth cooperation with everyone present here. Thank you.

[Zhang Qing]: Hello, I am Zhang Qing, the deputy general manager of China Resources Power Company. With the release of Document No. 9 of the power reform in 2015, the team of 4 people at the beginning now has about 30 people. From 2016 to 2017, we have maintained the leading level in the entire power sales field. In addition to this, we are also actively expanding the energy Internet and various businesses involving the user side. So we also hope to learn more through this meeting and truly promote the implementation of some future projects. Thank you.

[Ai Chunmei]: Hello everyone, I am the person in charge of the energy Internet demonstration project of Shanghai Electric Power Co., Ltd. We are one of the participants of this unit. Our main business is the operation of traditional power stations. Now under the background of energy Internet of Things, we are also actively exploring the field of energy Internet. I am very happy to attend this meeting today. The speeches in the morning and afternoon also gave me a lot of inspiration. I think this is a good opportunity for everyone to communicate with each other.

[Zhu Zhenpeng]: I am from Beibian Microgrid. With the help of various forces and everyone's support, we have done a lot in the incremental distribution network and Yanqing. The projects currently in operation are actually directly invested by the National Energy Administration, and the Beijing Municipal Government has invested 130 million yuan. The first batch of 30 projects, most of the 30 projects were done by the transmission network company, and that's it. One is Turpan, which was done by Minister Wang at the time. A summary meeting was held last year. There are experiences and lessons. Turpan summarized a lot of experiences and lessons. How to commercialize the commercial value of Yanqing is a problem. We participated in the 28 projects throughout the process, summarizing the experience and lessons, and how to solve the problem of commercial operation. Of course, the Internet is also done by the Science and Technology Department, and the new energy microgrid is done by the New Energy Department. The three directions are talking about the same problem. In the great transformation of energy, the source has developed and changed, and the users have also changed a lot. The users have changed from producers and sellers. After the change, how will the energy go? The country is doing this from different angles. The fact that the energy Internet is probably much more difficult than the microgrid.

[Host]: Based on the self-introductions of the guests, we have solicited some opinions from some of the participants in advance. Now let's have a simple group discussion with the guests. According to the main business scope and actual situation of the guests, and based on the suggestions we solicited in advance, we will discuss some relatively targeted topics with the guests. For the first topic, I would like to ask General Manager Zhang of China Resources to answer a question. What are the targeted projects of China Resources Power in terms of energy complementary projects, and what experience do you have in foreign cooperation and good practices to share with you?

[Zhang Qing]: China Resources Power itself relies on China Resources Group, which is a multi-format company. Many of our current projects are mainly driven by internal collaboration, especially China Resources Pharmaceuticals and many multi-format cooperation. The first large-scale model we did was the circular economy industrial park model. On this basis, because now with the entire power sales market, the entire power generator value chain can be expanded to the power sales field, so based on the power sales market, we currently have projects in incremental distribution network, microgrid and energy Internet that have entered pilot projects.

In terms of incremental distribution network, we have expanded the park in the surrounding areas. Originally, it was for beer, cement and environmental protection, which was an internal cycle. Now it is expanding outwards and the scope of local Chinese herbal medicine is wider, which drives the virtuous cycle of the entire surrounding area ecology. Taking this as an opportunity, projects such as wind, electricity and photovoltaics have reached a regional distribution network. This is an example.

We also have some other projects, such as an energy internet project in Jiangsu, which also packages multiple energy sources together. Actually, what I just said is not very clear. There are many business models in this area. In fact, what bothers us is the economic calculation and some technical barriers. There are also some policy barriers. This is actually a step-by-step promotion, and we have to gnaw on the bones slowly. Thank you.

[Host]: Thank you, Mr. Zhang. Chairman Zhu just mentioned that the energy Internet is a part of bitter history. Could you tell us in detail about the difficulties in carrying out the energy Internet project in your company and how you seek solutions to the difficulties?

[Zhu Zhenpeng]: Whether it is energy Internet or microgrid, we are actually doing things from the perspective of microgrid. When we encounter the first problem, let’s not talk about the economic problem, but the management problem. The new business model and management system are the first contradiction, and we have encountered many problems. When the project is implemented, you take the project to find someone, and no one cares about it after the project is approved. Beijing is better. Our project in Shanxi is relatively supported by the Shanxi government. At that time, when Governor Li was the governor, there was a project in progress. The first problem we encountered was that the power grid company wanted to hold a controlling stake. This was a very painful problem. We were the consulting party, and if the power grid company took a controlling stake, it would be over and the project would not be completed.

From the beginning of this project to the meeting held in Shanxi Province, the entire project has been approved for more than a year. Of course, there is nothing wrong with the communication with the power grid company later, but we have to follow our own rules. One access system costs 2 million, of course, this is not something that a company can solve. This is a problem.

There is also the issue of government responsibilities. Which department should be responsible for it? For example, for wind and solar power, there are some National Development and Reform Commissions, but it is not clear who will take the lead in this matter.

[Host]: In a word, I can understand that no one is in charge of what should be in charge, but many people are in charge of what should not be in charge.

[Zhu Zhenpeng]: You have to take care of a lot of people.

[Host]: No one is in charge of the things you want to be in charge of, but you are in charge of the things you don't want to be in charge of?

[Zhu Zhenpeng]: Yes, these are all specific examples. In the Shanxi ecological zone, you were not allowed to dig up trees that tall, and the entire project was suspended for two months. Because energy construction involves infrastructure projects, the government is in charge of all projects. The haze needs to be evaluated, and the environmental inspection came in the past two days and stopped immediately. These are very complicated issues. It is not like drawing something on paper. It is an implementation issue.

Another issue is the standard. What standard should be used? Of course, some things have been published recently, such as the management method of microgrids. There is no official document on energy Internet. The problem we are facing now is where to register the energy Internet. We have come to the Energy Science and Technology Department for comments. Who should be in charge of this project? This needs to be made clear. How to register and manage the energy Internet project? If it is disassembled, the economic feasibility of the project will be even more problematic. This is a big problem.

[Host]: Thank you, Mr. Zhu. You mentioned Mr. Zhu's words. There are great prospects, but many problems. Now let's ask colleagues from the Shanghai Smart Energy Internet Industry Alliance to introduce the progress and results in the development model.

[Qiao Xiaolin]: Actually, I do have some ideas. After listening to Mr. Zhu's confusion, we have encountered problems at the policy, regulatory and financial levels in the development of the energy internet. We have also seen many driving forces and some measures in operation. From the perspective of Fangrong Technology, the purpose of this platform product is to focus on the operation of the entire smart grid from the perspective of overall operation and maintenance. The real operation and maintenance perspective is to manage the existing projects through the platform first. Because Mr. Zhu just said that why there are so many people in the energy internet to take advantage of it is mainly because each project is a very large project. In fact, from the current implementation of the distribution and sales of electricity, many basics are needed.