Building a new ecosystem for the new energy industry - Interview with Liu Jinsong, head of the State Grid Development Department and New Energy Cloud Project

"State Grid": Why does State Grid Corporation of China want to promote the construction of new energy cloud?

Liu Jinsong: First of all, this is necessary to serve the energy strategy of the Party and the country and promote the transformation of energy production and consumption. In 2014, General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the sixth meeting of the Central Financial and Economic Leading Group, clearly proposing a new energy security strategy of promoting "four revolutions and one cooperation", which further pointed out the direction for my country's energy development and reform. It is expected that by 2050, my country's energy development will see "two 50%s", that is, in the energy production link, the proportion of non-fossil energy in primary energy will exceed 50%; in the terminal consumption link, the proportion of electricity in terminal energy consumption will exceed 50%. New energy is the main force driving my country's energy transformation. As the largest power grid company in the world that has access to new energy, the company has the responsibility to serve and promote the sustainable and healthy development of the new energy industry and support the transformation of the national energy structure.

Secondly, it is necessary to help local economic development. At present, my country's economy is facing downward pressure. Governments at all levels are actively taking measures to stabilize growth, accelerate the adjustment of industrial structure, and take the development of new energy as one of the key tasks to promote economic transformation. The construction of State Grid's new energy cloud (hereinafter referred to as the new energy cloud) will give birth to new forms and models of new energy development, create a platform economy and a sharing economy, and build an industrial ecosystem for new energy value creation and opportunity sharing, serving local economic and social development.

Thirdly, this is the need to accelerate the company's construction of a world-class energy Internet enterprise with "three types and two networks". The company is making every effort to build a "three types and two networks" enterprise, accelerate the construction of ubiquitous power Internet of Things, build hubs, build platforms, strengthen applications, and promote sharing. New Energy Cloud will give full play to the company's platform and resource advantages, transform the traditional momentum of relying on investment into a new development momentum relying on technological innovation and model innovation, continuously improve the company's internal operation level and management quality and efficiency, and accelerate the implementation of new strategic goals.

Finally, this is necessary to promote the high-quality development of the new energy industry. With the further improvement of policy mechanisms and the continuous expansion of new energy installed capacity, the requirements for the operating status and intelligent online operation and maintenance of wind turbines and photovoltaic components will become higher and higher. In particular, the randomness, volatility, and dispersion of new energy have posed challenges to the instantaneous balance of the power grid and the safety and stability of power grids at all levels. Through the extensive interconnection of the new energy cloud, the planning plans, operating parameters, equipment status and other data of all wind power and photovoltaic power generation projects are concentrated on the cloud platform for real-time intelligent analysis, accurately grasp the operating status of wind turbines and photovoltaic components, and timely perceive equipment operation failures. Accurately promote "unmanned duty, less staff on duty, and remote operation and maintenance", significantly reduce operation and maintenance costs, improve the efficiency and benefits of new energy companies, and promote higher quality development of the entire industry.

State Grid: In the first half of this year, the national wind and solar power abandonment rates both dropped. What role will the new energy cloud play in the future consumption of new energy?

Liu Jinsong: As of the end of 2018, the global installed capacity of renewable energy power generation was about 1.05 billion kilowatts. Among them, my country's installed capacity of renewable energy reached 360 million kilowatts, accounting for 35% of the global installed capacity of renewable energy. The installed capacity of renewable energy in the company's operating area reached 300 million kilowatts, accounting for 83% of the country's installed capacity of renewable energy. Ensuring the high proportion of access and consumption of renewable energy is directly related to the quality of the development of my country's new energy industry, and new technologies and mechanisms must be continuously explored. The sites of wind farms and photovoltaic power stations are relatively remote and scattered, and they are all transmitted to the end user side through the power grid for consumption. The whole process is a single energy flow form. Because these new energy resources belong to different market entities, and the meteorological conditions in the regions are different, the power generation capacity is different, and the equipment types are different, it is difficult to conduct centralized intelligent analysis of the information of these resources from the early planning of the project to the scheduling and completion of the transaction, and it is even more impossible to monitor the operation information of all equipment. Building a new energy cloud will integrate energy flow and information flow. By collecting data on project planning, construction, equipment operation, and the absorption capacity of different regions and conducting intelligent analysis, we can grasp the real-time status information of new energy resources and equipment, which will help achieve a larger-scale and more lean absorption of new energy.

"State Grid": What is the construction goal of the new energy cloud?

Liu Jinsong: Under the guidance of the National Energy Administration and the leadership of the company, the State Grid Development Department is responsible for leading the design and development, and the State Grid Internet Department is responsible for technical review. Relying on the State Grid E-Commerce Company, with the participation of China Electric Power Research Institute, State Grid Energy Research Institute, State Grid Economic Research Institute, relevant provincial power companies, Nanrui Group, and Xuji Group, and with the support and cooperation of relevant units and associations such as China Electric Power Planning and Design Institute, China Water Resources Planning and Design Institute, National Development and Reform Commission Energy Research Institute, China Wind Energy Association, and China Photovoltaic Association, in accordance with the overall requirements for the construction of ubiquitous power Internet of Things, adopting the concept of total quality management (PDCA), we organized a flexible team of more than 300 people to carry out construction in accordance with the principles of "high quality, high efficiency, and low cost". Relying on "big cloud, Internet of Things, mobility, intelligence, chain and edge" and industrial Internet technologies, the new energy cloud will cover the entire process of new energy management and demand, and can iterate quickly and minimize construction and operation costs. Ultimately, it will establish a first-class new energy big data cloud computing management and service platform, and build a new energy open management system with "horizontal coordination, vertical integration" and "all links, full integration, full coverage, full ecology, and full scenarios" to meet the needs of centralized, distributed, and decentralized new energy power generation, grid connection, and management.

State Grid: Specifically, what are the main features of the new energy cloud?

Liu Jinsong: The new energy cloud consists of 15 sub-platforms, including environmental load, resource distribution, planning, supply and demand forecasting, energy storage services, consumption calculation, manufacturer users, power supply enterprises, electricity users, grid services, electricity price subsidies, technical consultation, policy research, decision support, big data analysis, etc., fully reflecting the characteristics of "hub type, platform type, and sharing type". Each sub-platform corresponds to different needs, focusing on social concerns, focusing on serving customers and manufacturers, focusing on the company's core business, and focusing on the role of value.

For example, through the resource distribution platform, it is possible to dynamically monitor wind energy, solar energy resource information, fossil energy and other resource information across the country, thereby providing data analysis suggestions for the planning, site selection, construction and operation management of new energy power stations.

For another example, through the planning platform, power users can fill in power project planning plans and even dynamic information on power construction on the mobile phone APP, which will help power grid companies to grasp the planning ideas of new energy power generation companies in advance, plan power grid construction more effectively and in advance, and avoid problems of incoordination between plant and grid.

"State Grid": What changes will the construction of an open management system for new energy with "horizontal coordination and vertical integration" bring to the company's management model?

Liu Jinsong: The New Energy Cloud is closely centered around the company's "Three Types, Two Networks, and World-Class" strategy. It is the first platform that runs through the core processes of the company's main business, helping to break down internal and external data barriers, providing one-stop online services for all parties in the new energy industry chain, and optimizing and improving the business processes of new energy management. It breaks down the "chimneys" of relevant professional departments, and internally realizes "one source for data, one map of the power grid, one line of business" and "one network for all, full transparency". Externally, it widely connects internal and external, upstream and downstream resources and demands, and helps build a data middle platform and a business middle platform for the ubiquitous power Internet of Things, laying a solid foundation for the development of the national energy digital economy and the company's ubiquitous power Internet of Things construction.