The construction of global energy internet has entered a new stage, with more than 140 countries issuing corresponding policies

China Energy Storage Network: Since China issued the "Exploration of Building a Global Energy Internet" initiative in 2015, the development of the global energy Internet has made important progress. More than 140 countries around the world have introduced corresponding energy development policies. The "Global Energy Internet China Initiative" has become a consensus among countries as a global strategy to promote sustainable development of mankind. In the future, China will further promote the construction of domestic energy Internet, promote and promote the concept of global energy Internet worldwide, and accelerate the construction of energy Internet demonstration projects.

Reporters learned from the 2017 Global Energy Internet High-end Forum held recently that after years of efforts, my country has achieved partial power interconnection with neighboring countries such as Russia, Mongolia, Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar, with an interconnection scale of about 2.6 million kilowatts. The three major land oil and gas corridors in the northwest, northeast, and southwest have been basically completed, marking that the global energy Internet has entered a new stage of joint action.

The “circle of friends” is gradually expanding

In the face of challenges such as resource shortage, environmental pollution, and climate change facing the world's energy development, my country issued an initiative to "explore the construction of a global energy internet" on September 26, 2015. In March 2016, the Global Energy Interconnection Development Cooperation Organization was established, becoming the first international energy organization initiated by China.

In the past two years, the development of the global energy interconnection has made important progress. "More than 140 countries around the world have introduced energy development policies. In terms of promoting development, strengthening grid interconnection, and improving the level of electrification, the 'Global Energy Interconnection China Initiative' has become a consensus among countries as a global strategy to promote sustainable development of mankind," said Liu Zhenya, Chairman of the Global Energy Interconnection Development Cooperation Organization and Chairman of the China Electricity Council.

Over the past two years, relevant planning research has been steadily advanced. More than 100 research projects have been carried out in depth, and a standard planning system has been compiled. This includes the evaluation and calculation of global wind and solar energy resources; the drawing of the first global backbone power grid wiring diagram; the clarification of the overall pattern and key tasks of the interconnection of power grids in various continents; and the release of the Global Energy Internet White Paper, achieving an important breakthrough from theory to planning.

In the past two years, international cooperation has been fully launched. my country has established good cooperative relations with 47 countries and regions, more than 150 governments, enterprises, organizations, research institutions, etc. We have signed a number of cooperation agreements, memoranda and joint statements with the African Union and the International Hydropower Association. We have carried out all-round cooperation in the fields of grid interconnection planning, clean energy development, and networking process construction. The "circle of friends" of the global energy Internet is constantly expanding, and a high-end, pragmatic and diversified international cooperation pattern is accelerating.

Over the past two years, the cooperative organization has accelerated its development. The number of members has increased to more than 300, covering more than 40 countries and regions. A global network system has been initially formed, institutional construction has been strengthened, an economic basic research institute has been established, an advisory committee and a technical academic committee have been established, and cross-field and cross-industry cooperation has been carried out. The research strength has been greatly improved, and the cooperative organization has continued to grow and become an important force in promoting the transformation of the world's energy reform.

Construction conditions are already in place

"Building a global energy internet is an unprecedented global cooperation in the energy field. This is itself an innovation, and it faces new fields, new topics and new challenges. Only by relying on innovation can we promote development and solve problems." In Liu Zhenya's view, the conditions for building a global energy internet are already in place.

From a resource perspective, the theoretical development potential of global hydropower, onshore wind power, and solar energy exceeds 10 billion kilowatts, 1 trillion kilowatts, and 100 trillion kilowatts, respectively. Only 0.5% of the development can meet global energy demand. From a technical perspective, UHV transmission technology is advanced and mature, clean energy power generation technology is constantly improving, and smart grid technology is widely used. From an economic perspective, the cost of wind power and photovoltaic power generation has dropped by 30% and 75% respectively in the past five years, and will continue to decline rapidly. By 2025, the competitiveness of new energy will surpass fossil energy in all aspects. In terms of market demand, it is estimated that from 2016 to 2050, global electricity demand will increase from 24 trillion kilowatt-hours to 73 trillion kilowatt-hours, with an average annual growth of 3.1%. More than 20% requires cross-border and cross-continental configuration.

"It should be said that the construction plan was not proposed out of thin air, but was based on existing technical, economic and other related research. In fact, after two years of work, we are more confident." Zhang Yibin, deputy director of the Development Bureau of the Global Energy Interconnection Development Cooperation Organization, said that from the perspective of the external environment, the consensus on building a global energy internet is gradually deepening; from the perspective of cooperation channels, it has changed from my country's unilateral action to a multilateral action coordinated by various countries.

In recent years, China's energy internet construction has become an important demonstration of global energy internet construction. For example, the length of China's UHV lines in operation and under construction has reached 35,000 kilometers, with a transformer capacity of 360 million kilowatt-amperes and an annual power transmission capacity of more than 400 billion kilowatt-hours, becoming a major channel for inter-provincial and inter-regional energy transmission in China, and playing an important role in air and environmental governance. In addition, my country has taken the lead in the world in smart grid construction and clean energy installation.

Steadily advancing domestic construction

Building a global energy internet is a major systemic project that will affect the future of mankind, and it will undoubtedly face many problems and challenges. "First of all, it is a problem of ideas." Zhou Dadi, former director of the Energy Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission and vice president of the China Energy Research Society, said that from a global perspective, the development levels of different regions are different, especially some underdeveloped regions, such as Africa, Southeast Asia and other countries, have not yet deeply understood the transformation of energy development methods. Therefore, my country's task of promoting and popularizing the concept of a global energy internet is very arduous.

In recent years, although my country's energy Internet-related technologies and equipment have made some essential breakthroughs, there are still many local technologies that need continuous innovation, such as improving energy efficiency, improving the level of intelligence, and improving the overall level of equipment manufacturing technology.

"The promotion of the Global Energy Internet project is not only a technical and economic issue, but also a complex international relations issue." Zhang Yibin believes that in order to run a large-scale system like the Global Energy Internet, a lot of breakthrough mechanism design work needs to be done in market transactions, mechanisms, and scheduling. It requires strong support from relevant government departments, not only in terms of attitude, but also in terms of policies, laws, and even some political cooperation.

Fei Zhirong, deputy secretary-general of the National Development and Reform Commission, revealed that in the next step, China will steadily promote the construction of domestic energy internet, optimize the layout of the power grid, and improve the ability to optimize the allocation of domestic energy resources. It will accelerate the construction of energy internet demonstration projects, actively study and propose supporting policies and measures, and reserve sufficient development space for the development of new models and new formats of energy internet.

In addition, my country will focus on countries related to the "Belt and Road Initiative" and accelerate the implementation of a number of clean energy development and power grid interconnection projects with mature conditions and significant benefits, further improve and expand existing strategic oil and gas transportation channels, and strengthen the planning and research of interconnection with power grids in neighboring countries such as Southeast Asia.

Editor: Zhang Shanshan