my country's cumulative installed capacity of wind power and photovoltaic power exceeds 700 million kilowatts

Total exports exceeded US$51.2 billion, up 80.3% year-on-year - in 2022, my country's photovoltaic industry performed well in the international market. After years of intensive cultivation, the competitiveness of my country's wind power and photovoltaic industry has been greatly improved, and the proportion of key components such as photovoltaic modules, wind turbines, and gearboxes in the global market share has increased to 70%. In China, wind power and photovoltaics have also become the main body of new power generation installed capacity and new power generation, accounting for 78% and more than 55% in 2022, respectively, and the cumulative installed capacity has exceeded 700 million kilowatts, equivalent to more than 30 Three Gorges power stations.

The development of new energy represented by wind power and photovoltaic power has been accelerated, and the competitiveness of the industry has been continuously enhanced. What new opportunities will the wind power and photovoltaic industry face in the future? How to create new momentum and new advantages for development? The reporter conducted an interview.

Downstream demand is strong, and the production of wind power and photovoltaic products is booming

The first quarter is traditionally the off-season for wind power production, but this year, Zhuang Qinxia, ​​chairman of Sinoma Science & Technology Wind Blade Co., Ltd., feels differently: "Many companies have started scheduling production since February, and will basically be in full production in March, racing against time to catch up with orders."

Speaking of the reasons for the hot production, Zhuang Qinxia analyzed: On the one hand, downstream customers are accelerating their layout in the new energy field, releasing positive market signals; on the other hand, the demand for wind power installation, which slowed down last year due to factors such as the epidemic, is expected to accelerate this year. According to industry forecasts, from 2023 to 2025, my country's annual new installed capacity of wind power will reach 60 million to 70 million kilowatts, equivalent to more than 1.5 times the new installed capacity in 2022.

Compared with onshore wind power, offshore wind power has a higher average utilization hours, does not occupy land, and is close to the power load center, which is the direction of future layout. In response to this market trend, in 2022, Sinoma Blades deployed 6 120-meter-class blade production lines in two coastal factories. "The wind sweeping area of ​​​​the 120-meter-class blade is equivalent to 7 standard football fields, and the power generation of one full rotation can be used by a family of three for about 7 days." Zhuang Qinxia introduced that this typhoon-resistant blade is currently in high demand, and orders have been scheduled until 2024, and some international customers have come to seek cooperation.

The off-season is not dull, and photovoltaic companies also feel this. In Xianyang, Shaanxi, Longi Green Energy's module factory covering an area of ​​more than 200 acres is busy with production. After processes such as dicing, string welding, lamination, packaging testing, and packaging, photovoltaic modules about 2.27 meters long and 1.13 meters wide are waiting to be shipped. "From the current planned production, this year's demand is expected to increase by 2.5 gigawatts compared to last year, and the capacity utilization rate can reach more than 90%." Factory director Qi Ji introduced. The strong demand for components has also driven the expansion of upstream silicon wafers, battery cells and other links. 40 kilometers away from the component factory, a photovoltaic expansion project with a total investment of more than 45.2 billion yuan is about to start, with an estimated annual output of 100 gigawatts of silicon wafers and 50 gigawatts of photovoltaic cells.

Data released by the China Photovoltaic Industry Association showed that output in all links of the photovoltaic industry chain hit new highs in 2022, with year-on-year growth in output of polysilicon, silicon wafers, batteries, and modules exceeding 55%; the industry's total output value exceeded 1.4 trillion yuan, an increase of more than 95% year-on-year; photovoltaic module output and new installed capacity ranked first in the world for 16 consecutive years and 10 years respectively.

Behind the busy production lines and strong orders is the market's good expectations for the development of the wind power and photovoltaic industry. Since the beginning of the year, a number of key projects have been accelerated: the construction of the world's largest "Shagohuang" wind power and photovoltaic base project in the Kubuqi Desert is in full swing, with a total investment of over 80 billion yuan; the Guangdong Shantou International Wind Power Innovation Port industrial project has been signed and started, with a scale of about 30 billion yuan; the second phase of the Liuao offshore wind farm project in Zhangpu, Fujian has started construction, and for the first time, large-capacity offshore wind turbines of 16 megawatts and above are used in batches... According to a report released by the China Electricity Council, it is expected that by the end of 2023, the national grid-connected wind power will reach 430 million kilowatts and the grid-connected solar power will reach 490 million kilowatts, and the installed capacity of solar power generation and wind power is expected to exceed the installed capacity of hydropower for the first time.

Market competition is fierce, reducing costs and increasing efficiency have become the key to success

The International Energy Agency predicts that by 2025, renewable energy will surpass coal and become the world's largest source of electricity. According to the "14th Five-Year Plan for Renewable Energy Development", during the "14th Five-Year Plan", my country's wind power and solar power generation will double... In recent years, the wind power and photovoltaic industries have attracted a lot of investment. With the development of projects in multiple places and intensified market competition, cost reduction and efficiency improvement have become the key to corporate success.

In 2022, the conversion efficiency of the silicon heterojunction battery independently developed by LONGi Green Energy reached 26.81%, which is the latest world record and the first world record for silicon battery efficiency created by a Chinese photovoltaic company.

Improved cell conversion efficiency means that the same area can absorb the same amount of light and generate more electricity. Li Zhenguo, president of Longi Green Energy, said that according to calculations, every 1 percentage point increase in conversion efficiency above 20% can save more than 5% of costs for downstream power stations. "We will strive to achieve mass production of this technology within two to three years." According to statistics, since 2014, Chinese companies and research institutions have refreshed the laboratory efficiency of crystalline silicon cells more than 50 times.

The application of digital and intelligent technologies is also of great help in reducing costs and increasing efficiency in the wind power and photovoltaic industries.

In the northwest Gobi Desert, a 186-meter-diameter impeller slowly rises and docks precisely with the nacelle at an altitude of nearly 100 meters. The Huadian Mulei 40 Jingzi Wind Power Project in Changji, Xinjiang has completed the installation of another wind turbine. 125 smart wind turbines will be installed here, which will generate 2.2 billion kilowatt-hours of clean electricity each year after completion.

Smart wind turbines, what makes them smart? Gao Xiang, deputy general manager of Xinjiang Huadian Mulei New Energy Company, said that by implanting sensors into wind turbine components and using advanced control technology and algorithms, the units can sense complex wind conditions in advance and achieve optimal performance; tower status monitoring and blade vibration monitoring can reduce power generation losses caused by downtime, and the operation and maintenance costs are reduced by about 20% compared with traditional wind turbines.

Qin Haiyan, Secretary General of the Wind Energy Committee of the China Renewable Energy Society, introduced that in recent years, the technical level and reliability of wind power equipment have been continuously improved, and digitalization, intelligence, and customization technologies have made significant progress. Through technological innovations such as high towers, airfoil optimization, new material applications, and precise wind measurement, my country's wind power generation efficiency has increased by 30% compared with 10 years ago. Data shows that in 2021, the average kilowatt-hour cost of onshore wind power and photovoltaic power generation in my country has dropped by about 48% and 70% respectively compared with 2012, laying the foundation for large-scale, high-proportion, and market-oriented development.

The future prospects are promising, and integrated development will create new space for the industry

The service life can reach more than 25 years, it can withstand a maximum of 18-level super typhoons, and it can be automatically cleaned by cleaning robots... In Jiaxing, Zhejiang, the Beijing Energy International Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) project has installed a super roof that can generate electricity. Compared with the traditional use of brackets on the roof to support photovoltaic panels, the roof here itself is composed of inner panels, thermal insulation cotton, outer panels, and photovoltaic power generation layers.

"BIPV makes photovoltaics a real part of the building. Compared with bracket installation, there is no need to reserve channels, which means that larger capacity components can be installed on the same roof area, and power generation can be increased by about 15%." Zhong Baoshen, chairman of LONGi Green Energy, believes that in addition to actively promoting BIPV in new buildings, the renovation of old building roofs is also a market with great potential.