Yang Kun of China Electricity Council: To build a global energy internet, we must first build a strong unified power grid

China Energy Storage Network: Recently, Yang Kun, Party Secretary and Executive Vice Chairman of the China Electricity Council, accepted an exclusive interview with reporters at a forum. The following is the content of the conversation.

Reporter: Secretary Yang, how do we correctly understand the initiative and concept of the Global Energy Internet?

Yang Kun: In December 2015, the Paris Climate Change Conference adopted a new global climate change agreement. The Paris Agreement states that all parties will strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change, limit the increase in global average temperature to within 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and strive to limit the temperature increase to within 1.5 degrees Celsius. The world will achieve a peak in greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible and achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions in the second half of this century.

The realization of the goal requires concrete actions. However, different parts of the world have different resource endowments, different market development bases, and different economic development levels. Therefore, there is a huge gap between energy production and consumption. The proposal of the Global Energy Internet has put forward new methods and new ideas to fill the gap. The construction of the Global Energy Internet can effectively inspire and mobilize energy and related fields to take action to achieve the goal of controlling temperature rise, and ultimately realize sustainable energy security for everyone.

From the perspective of energy transformation trends, the Global Energy Internet Initiative is in line with the two major directions of electric energy substitution and clean substitution. The energy structure centered on electricity is already a recognized development trend. Electricity will become cleaner at the production end and its share at the consumption end will increase. Therefore, the implementation of the Global Energy Internet Initiative requires the support of large power grids.

History tells us that improving energy efficiency will inevitably lead to a larger grid coverage area. This is determined by the characteristics of the grid itself. This trend has been going on since the advent of the AC grid and has never been reversed. The larger the coverage area of ​​a unified grid, the higher the efficiency of resource allocation. Differences in load, time, season, price, and other areas can be optimized in a larger area.

At present, the development and utilization of new energy in my country is in full swing. The installed capacity of wind energy and solar energy is already the first in the world. Especially under the promotion of energy Internet, distributed energy, regional microgrids, domestic interconnection, intercontinental interconnection, and global interconnection will proceed steadily, and solar energy and wind energy will be developed on a larger scale worldwide. For example, if the solar energy resources in the Sahara Desert cannot be sent to Europe, it is difficult to fully utilize the resources by relying solely on local consumption. But his resource endowment is there, and the cost of solar energy is very low. Even if the ultra-high voltage grid technology is used to send clean electricity to Europe, it still has strong market competitiveness and can compete with local natural gas power and nuclear power in Europe.

Reporter: From the perspective of the power industry, what do you think should be the core of building a global energy internet?

Yang Kun: First of all, we need to do a good job in the construction of domestic power grids. At present, there are still some weak links in the interconnection of our regional power grids. We need to strengthen the weak links of interconnection and form the main framework of the ultra-high voltage AC power grid. This is a very important prerequisite for the large-scale optimization and development of new energy. In addition, we are now further improving the stability of the power grid and ensuring the safety of the large power grid.

After completing domestic interconnection, we need to seek some new breakthroughs in regional interconnection. Now in some regions, such as South Asia, West Asia and even Africa, we may make some breakthroughs in the short term. Once regional interconnection achieves a breakthrough, it will have a strong demonstration effect on the construction of the global energy Internet and attract more enterprises, governments and non-governmental organizations to join in and jointly promote the implementation of the initiative.

In short, to realize the global energy Internet, we must first do a good job at home. We must build a strong unified power grid, lay a solid foundation, and strengthen our capabilities. Then we can go out firmly, expand connectivity with neighboring countries, and ultimately achieve connectivity on a larger scale.

Reporter: Two years have passed since the Global Energy Internet Initiative was proposed. Government departments, industry associations, enterprises and research institutes have worked together to promote the dissemination of the concept and the implementation of the project, and have achieved some results. In the future, what other areas should the government, associations, enterprises and research institutes focus on?

Yang Kun: It should be said that the Global Energy Internet Initiative was proposed not long ago, and the cooperation organization was established only two years ago. In the past two years, under the leadership of Chairman Liu, we have worked hard and overcome difficulties, and have done a lot of hard work. The achievements we have made are obvious to all, and they are all groundbreaking, which have never been done by our predecessors in the past. So everyone is really moved and inspired. At the convening of the 2017 Global Energy Internet High-end Forum, many guests were inspired by Chairman Liu's spirit and came here from different countries. This indirectly reflects that the dissemination of the Global Energy Internet Initiative has gradually been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, has been widely recognized, and has formed a strong cohesive force.

Building a global energy internet is an arduous task. I have also traveled to several places with Chairman Liu. Many people have gone from initial disapproval to gradual recognition and then joint action.

At this forum, everyone put forward many good ideas, and they hit it off immediately, were very excited, and were passionate. These members are the basic force for the further dissemination and implementation of the global energy Internet. In the future, under the leadership of the cooperative organization, more forces will gather together, and the momentum will get better and better.

There is a lot to do. The implementation of the global energy internet involves many aspects. In addition to the economic design and technical analysis and comparison, there are also government considerations on grid security and geopolitics. Therefore, we need to work with international organizations such as the United Nations to leverage the huge influence of China's "Belt and Road" initiative to strengthen communication with various regions, enhance understanding and trust among various members, and create a harmonious environment.

In terms of technology, we must focus on building global energy internet standards, promote the internationalization of global energy internet standards with Chinese practices as soon as possible, and actively participate in the formulation of international standards.

In addition, in the process of going global, we are faced with unfamiliar legal, financial and cultural environments. We need to rely on the support and cooperation of local relevant institutions, as well as the support and cooperation of some domestic relevant institutions and organizations. Therefore, before achieving global energy interconnection, we must first achieve cultural connectivity and then achieve mutual political recognition and trust.

Reporter: What are your expectations for the development of cooperative organizations in the future?

Yang Kun: The current momentum is very good, and everyone's efforts have achieved initial results. Therefore, we should be more confident that the Global Energy Internet is a powerful tool for us to deal with a series of major issues such as energy transformation and climate change challenges. It has strong vitality. We will follow the current direction, make breakthroughs in key areas, form demonstration and guidance, and continue to advance. There will definitely be a bright and brilliant future.

Editor: Zhang Shanshan