Zhijian | China Energy Construction Corporation's China Electric Power Engineering Co., Ltd. Luo Bixiong: The Integration of Digital Energy into a Solid Foundation for Digital China

Production | NetEase Technology's "Smart Interview"Author | Zhao FuyaoEditor | Ding GuangshengThe wind of the digital wave has blown into the field of energy structure transformation.As the world's largest energy producer and consumer, China is actively promoting the digitization and intelligent construction of the energy industry

Production | NetEase Technology's "Smart Interview"

Author | Zhao Fuyao

Editor | Ding Guangsheng

The wind of the digital wave has blown into the field of energy structure transformation.

As the world's largest energy producer and consumer, China is actively promoting the digitization and intelligent construction of the energy industry. The upgrading of digital intelligence is considered an important strategic choice in the energy industry.

This year, the National Energy Administration issued the "2023 Energy Work Guidance" (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions"), which pointed out that the transformation of energy structure is one of the goals for in-depth promotion. In 2023, the proportion of coal consumption is required to steadily decrease, with wind and photovoltaic power generation accounting for 15.3% of the total electricity consumption in society.

The Opinion clearly proposes to accelerate the digital and intelligent upgrading of the energy industry. Specific measures include steadily and orderly promoting the development of Digital transformation of nuclear power, and actively carrying out intelligent construction of equipment and facilities and process flow in power plants, power grids, oil and gas fields, oil and gas pipelines, terminal energy use and other fields.

China has a vast territory, and there are significant differences in the development level of natural environment and energy industry among different regions. Therefore, various provinces are also introducing different energy plans. The plan includes vigorously developing wind and solar power, strengthening key technological innovation, promoting hydrogen energy development, accelerating energy storage development, ensuring energy supply, and actively promoting nuclear power construction.

China's energy sector is facing dual pressures: on the one hand, it needs to adapt to the requirements of large-scale and high proportion grid connection and consumption of new energy; On the other hand, it is necessary to ensure the stable operation of the power grid and the coordinated development of source network load storage. In this context, digital and intelligent means have become key to driving the development of the energy industry.

As the core force of China's energy construction, China Energy Construction Corporation's China Electric Power Engineering has won multiple projects this year, involving million kilowatts of thermal power, energy storage, complementary agriculture and solar power, construction of commercial and residential complexes, and control of cloud photovoltaic power generation.

So, how should the energy industry better integrate with digital technology? What bottlenecks have been encountered in the utilization of new energy sources such as nuclear energy and hydrogen energy?

The NetEase Digital Planet Wisdom Interview invited Mr. Luo Bixiong, the national engineering survey and design master, vice chairman of China Survey and Design Association, secretary of the party committee and chairman of China Energy Engineering Corporation, to discuss energy planning, new energy development, energy storage, nuclear energy development, digital intelligence and other aspects.

The following is the full text of the interview:

NetEase Technology: Currently, how should China's power system achieve a high proportion of new energy consumption?

Luo Bixiong:We should focus on the supply side, demand side, and power grid side. The supply side should increase the overall planning and layout of various power sources, and improve the reasonable power structure. In response to the specific situation of China's power system, we will adopt measures tailored to local conditions to promote the scientific allocation of various types and diversification of energy storage, orderly construction of pumped storage, actively promote the construction of new types of energy storage such as hydrogen storage and compressed air storage, strengthen the flexible transformation of coal-fired power, build a comprehensive energy supply system with multiple and complementary sources, and increase the proportion of installed flexible adjustable power sources;The demand side should focus on integrating demand side response resources, improve power demand response, and consider including microgrids, distributed smart grids, virtual power plants, electric vehicle charging and changing facilities, and integrated aggregation of user side source network load and storage into the demand side response range,Promote interruptible load and controllable load to participate in stable control and regulation to meet internal energy demand and respond to external system changes; On the power grid side, a strong flexible power grid platform should be built to strengthen grid interconnection and enhance mutual assistance capabilities, increase the construction of inter provincial power interconnection channels, and increase the long-distance transportation of clean electricity. This can improve the utilization rate of electricity and ensure the proportion of new energy electricity consumption.

NetEase Technology: How should the energy industry organically integrate with big data and information industries?

Luo Bixiong:One is the integration of data and energy to promote the infrastructure of computing power, green and low-carbon, laying a solid foundation for the construction of digital China.

At present, through the mode of integration of source, network, load and storage, green and low-cost power is provided for the back-end power load of big data center and information industry, so as to transform the advantages of clean energy resources into industrial development advantages, simultaneously improve the efficiency of power utilization of data center, and efficiently transform "watt" into "bit".

Second, the integration of data and energy promotes the smart low-carbon transformation of the energy industry and provides support for carbon peak carbon neutrality.

By flexibly driving "watts" through "bits", promoting deep interaction and matching between sources and loads, building a new type of power system, and achieving compatibility and coordinated development of "large power grid" and "distributed and decentralized" power grid forms through digital technology; Promote deep interaction between energy storage and power, grid, and load sides through digital technology, and enhance the large-scale grid connection and consumption capacity of clean energy;Improve the accuracy of new energy load forecasting and the construction and application of smart operation (maintenance) systems through digital technology, and enhance the modernization level of the energy industry chain.

NetEase Technology: How should the energy and power industry integrate with other industries?

Luo Bixiong:I want to introduce the concept of "energy+",Let me talk about my ideas from the following points.

One is "energy+data".The huge power consumption is the support behind the enormous computing power of 5G, artificial intelligence, big data applications, and cloud computing. A new type of data center powered by clean energy electricity has emerged. While promoting green electricity consumption, the use of new generation information technology can also build a new energy power grid.The integrated development of "electricity+computing power" promotes the digital and intelligent development of the energy and power industry.

The second is "energy+transportation". The next development focus,We should build a new energy transportation system with "green electricity+green hydrogen". Specifically, a development and construction model of sea land coordination can be carried out to create a new era of transportation system with land sea clean energy electricity and green hydrogen as power sources.

The third is "energy+industry". China aims to develop clean energy electricity in the raw material processing industry represented by steel and petrochemicals, promote the use of green hydrogen as a carrier, and optimize the process and raw material structure of steel smelting, coal chemical industry, synthetic ammonia, methanol, and other processes,Promoting green transformation and upgrading of industries in terms of energy use and technological processes, promoting energy conservation, emission reduction, and carbon reduction, while also contributing to the high-end development of the industry.

China Electric Power Engineering has successfully developed the "East Data and West Calculation" integrated data and energy integration demonstration project for the source network, load storage, and transportation in Qingyang, Gansu, as well as the Shandong Zaohe high-speed optical storage integrated energy integration demonstration project. It is also developing the Baotou Tuyou Banner new energy hydrogen production coupling coal chemical integration project.Focusing on the integrated development of "energy+", we will continue to promote the deep integration of the "seven networks" of energy, transportation, digital, water conservancy, ecological, industrial, and cultural networks.

NetEase Technology: Many regions in China are achieving energy integration. How do you think we should adjust the energy structure, promote power generation efficiency improvement, and reduce industrial process energy consumption?

Luo Bixiong:Firstly, it is necessary to vigorously develop renewable energy sources such as wind and light, and create a clean energy system. We need to optimize the spatial pattern of energy supply and demand in the eastern and western regions of China, promote the conversion of dominant energy to non fossil energy, and strive for clean energy supply.

Secondly, we need to strengthen source control and further promote energy conservation and consumption reduction. For traditional fossil fuels, it is necessary to fully utilize their peak shaving ability and improve the level of clean utilization of fossil fuels.At the same time, we will eliminate outdated production capacity, accelerate the optimization and upgrading of industrial structure, and implement efficient energy use.

Thirdly, we need to increase technological innovation and adhere to technological leadership. Energy technology is low-carbon, and research efforts should focus on areas and links that constrain the development of new energy, such as new energy storage, advanced transmission technology, and the construction of large new energy bases.Using new technologies such as cloud computing and intelligent edge management to improve control accuracy and intelligently optimize load distribution for power generation and industrial processes.

At the same time, it is also necessary to improve the energy supply and marketing system and policies, improve the energy trading market, strengthen international cooperation, and adhere to the integrated development of "energy+various fields".

NetEase Technology: In the context of the carbon neutrality era, what layout and exploration has China Energy Engineering Corporation done to promote the transformation of the energy structure to green and low-carbon?

Luo Bixiong:Firstly, core think tanks and high-end consulting are the traditional advantages of China Electric Power Engineering, which has proposed a "dual carbon" implementation path for China's energy system; In addition, 36 types of integration methods and solutions have been proposed for governments, industries, and enterprises from the four dimensions of multi energy, industry, region, and digital energy integration.

Secondly, China State Grid Corporation actively expands its business and markets in areas such as "energy+transportation", "energy+ecological governance", and "energy+industrial park", and undertakes the Zhangbei wind and solar energy storage and transmission demonstration project,Provided clean and reliable green power guarantee for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics; Geothermal heat pump is applied in a high proportion in the T3 terminal of Changsha Huanghua Airport to achieve near zero carbon emissions in the airport terminal; Yulin low-carbon green methanol energy chain coupling project, synthesizing green formaldehyde to replace fossil energy.

Thirdly, in the demonstration project of the "East Digital West Computing" smart zero carbon big data industrial park in Qingyang, Gansu, China Electric Power Engineering has proposed a source network load storage integration solution that integrates and interacts with multiple elements of "wind light storage computing".At the same time, a collaborative scheduling mechanism between the "National Computing Power Network" and the "Green Power Network" has been established, forming a typical paradigm for the integrated development of big data and energy fields.

In addition, China Power Engineering Corporation has built the world's first high-altitude wind power generation technology demonstration project, filling the gap in high-altitude wind resource utilization; The independently developed large capacity non supplementary combustion high-pressure hot water storage medium temperature adiabatic compression technology has achieved the world's first in single unit power, energy storage scale, and conversion efficiency of compressed air energy storage systems;We have independent intellectual property rights in the core technologies of large-scale renewable energy electrolysis water hydrogen production static system matching, integrated optimization design, and intelligent control, and deeply participate in the formulation of national energy sector planning and standards; Zhongdian Engineering is the only enterprise in China that simultaneously possesses various carbon capture technologies such as chemical absorption, adsorption, and membrane, guiding and driving the development of CCUS technology.

NetEase Technology: Hydrogen energy is an important component of the future national energy system, but there are still challenges such as incomplete standard systems, signs of industrial homogenization, incomplete industrial chains, and single application scenarios. How do you think we should address these challenges?

Luo Bixiong:The country has issued a medium to long-term development plan for the hydrogen energy industry, and multiple provinces and cities have also released hydrogen related plans to support the development of the hydrogen energy industry from various aspects such as technological innovation, infrastructure construction, application demonstration, and policy improvement. In the future, as the prices of core equipment such as electrolytic cells continue to decline and the carbon trading market gradually matures, green hydrogen will become more competitive in the market.From the application side perspective, due to the high cost of hydrogen storage and transportation, the main scenarios for large-scale hydrogen energy utilization are concentrated in the green hydrogen chemical industry. The enrichment of future application scenarios must also rely on breakthroughs and large-scale applications of key technologies such as hydrogen storage and transportation, fuel cells, hydrogen blending gas turbines, and hydrogen pipelines.

NetEase Technology: Deepening international energy cooperation can ensure China's energy security and sustainable development. What is the layout of China Energy Construction and China Power Engineering in deepening international energy cooperation? What are the plans for further deepening international energy cooperation in the future?

Luo Bixiong:Coordinate the international business resources and overseas institutions of China Power Engineering Corporation to form a new international business pattern of unified, orderly, and joint operations.

Internationally, CEC has built itself into a bridgehead for overseas business of CEC and a window for introducing international advanced technology management experience through the acquisition of Spain's Yi'an Company and Gaisa Company. It has promoted overall exchanges and cooperation between its affiliated enterprises and Spanish companies, as well as technical exchanges and business collaboration in nuclear power, solar thermal, energy storage, hydrogen energy, coal power upgrading and transformation.

At the strategic level, relying on 22 specialized technical centers of China National Electric Power Engineering Corporation, China National Electric Power Engineering Corporation collaborates with Spanish companies to build an international and domestic "dual cycle" green development industry chain,Complementary industry and business integration, intensive market integration, and early grasp of the development direction, technological upgrading direction, and market layout direction of green and low-carbon industries.

At the business level, China Power Engineering Corporation will use China Power Engineering International Corporation as the implementation carrier for international energy cooperation, with energy planning and industrial planning as the dual focus, fully relying on the advantages of the entire industry chain from planning consultation to investment and construction, and deeply integrating into the government led cooperation mechanism. Realize the integration and connectivity between China and international rules, regulations, and standards.