In the view of industry insiders, on the one hand, "West-to-East Power Transmission" should combine the new situation and achieve new technological breakthroughs; On the other hand, the eastern and western regions should adapt to new needs and changes, and take multiple measures to continuously improve the efficiency of "west-to-east power transmission".
Remarkable achievements have been made in the "West-to-East Power Transmission" project. Up to now, the transmission capacity of the "West-to-East Power Transmission" project has exceeded 300 million kilowatts, supporting about one-fifth of the electricity demand in the eastern and central regions of the mainland. According to the latest data from the National Energy Administration, by the end of 2023, the total installed capacity of new energy in 12 provinces in the western region exceeded 400 million kilowatts, accounting for about 40% of the country's installed new energy capacity. "West-to-East Power Transmission" is an important way to break the spatial constraints of energy resources in the mainland, and effectively guarantees the power supply in East China, Central China, South China and other places during the heavy load period.
With the acceleration of the construction of new power systems, the transfer of high-energy-consuming industries to the western region, and the acceleration of the construction of large-scale wind power and photovoltaic bases, the "west-to-east power transmission" is undergoing a major transformation. In the context of the rapid development of a high proportion of renewable energy in the western region and the transformation of the energy structure, the "West-to-East Power Transmission" is developing in a greener and more efficient direction. At the same time, in order to improve the resilience and security of the power system, the eastern receiving provinces are shifting from relying on external power supply to paying more attention to the development and utilization of local new energy.
In the view of industry insiders, on the one hand, "West-to-East Power Transmission" should combine the new situation and achieve new technological breakthroughs; On the other hand, the eastern and western regions should adapt to new needs and changes, and take multiple measures to continuously improve the efficiency of "west-to-east power transmission".
The proportion of new energy has increased, and the delivery project has been gradually improved
The origin of "West-to-East Power Transmission" can be traced back to the 70s of the 20th century, which was mainly used to transport thermal power and hydropower resources from the northwest and southwest regions of the mainland to central and eastern China. With the passage of time, the "West-to-East Power Transmission" has formed three main transmission channels in the north, the middle and the south, which has played an important role in optimizing the allocation of power resources and promoting the coordinated development of the eastern and western regions.
For example, on June 17, Shanxi Shouyang Mingtai Power Plant and Xishangzhuang Power Plant were fully integrated into the Hebei Power Grid through the 500 kV Zhuanggui double-circuit line, marking the completion of the North China Power Grid's "West-to-East Power Transmission" channel adjustment series of projects. The operation of the project optimizes the grid structure of the North China regional power grid, enhances the power supply capacity of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei load center, and lays a solid foundation for the peak summer power supply in North China. After the line is integrated into the Hebei power grid, it can directly transmit about 9.8 billion kilowatt hours of electricity to Hebei Province every year, which can meet the annual electricity demand of about 4 million households.
Another example is the ±800 kV UHV DC transmission project from Shaanxi to Anhui, which is a key project of inter-provincial power transmission during the 14th Five-Year Plan period and is expected to be completed in 2025, with an annual power transmission of 36 billion kWh. After the project is put into operation, it will not only enhance Shaanxi's power support for the power grids in North China, East China, Central China and Southwest China, but also greatly enhance Shaanxi's energy supply capacity and accelerate the transformation and upgrading of energy structure.
Chen Haoyong, director of the Institute of Electric Power Economics and Power Market of South China University of Technology, told the China Energy News that the mainland's energy resources and load demand are inversely distributed, with resources enriched in the western region and demand intensive in the eastern region, especially in Guangdong and other provinces. The southern line of "West-to-East Power Transmission" will transport hydropower and thermal power from Yunnan and Guizhou to the required areas, breaking the spatial constraints of energy resources.
In the context of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, the installed capacity of renewable energy power generation in mainland China has continued to increase in recent years, which may promote new changes in the "west-to-east power transmission". Chen Haoyong said: "Onshore scenery resources are concentrated in the western region. According to the relevant plan, the total installed capacity of wind power and photovoltaic power generation in the mainland will reach 1.2 billion kilowatts in 2030, and it is expected to reach 7 billion kilowatts by 2060. A high proportion of renewable energy will affect the power balance of the power system. This means that new power systems need more flexibility to deal with uncertainties and anti-peaking characteristics. ”
Industry insiders generally believe that the "West-to-East Power Transmission" is changing from solving the imbalance between power supply and demand to promoting the consumption and utilization of clean electricity in a wider range, which means that it is necessary to further strengthen the role of "West-to-East Power Transmission" in opening up inter-provincial trading channels, rationally channeling system costs, and promoting the large-scale development of green power trading.
Zhao Qiuli, a researcher at the Institute of Planning and Strategy of the State Grid Energy Research Institute, believes that the western region, as the region with the most abundant new energy resources in the mainland, has special significance under the "double carbon" goal. In the face of the basic national situation of the reverse distribution of new energy resources and load demand, how to effectively coordinate the development and utilization of new energy resources in the western region has become an urgent problem to be solved at present and in the future. "We believe that on the basis of the overall improvement of the capacity of 'west-to-east power transmission', we should also consider planning the 'west-to-west power use' in advance to enhance the ability of regional coordinated development."
"Electricity comes from the side", and the east-west cooperation is upgraded again
The rapid development of new energy has put forward new requirements for regional coordinated development and improving energy security capabilities, which has changed the electricity consumption situation in the eastern and western regions.
A staff member of a power company in Sichuan Province bluntly said to a reporter from China Energy News: "Sichuan, Yunnan and other regions have developed hydropower, and there is a large surplus of electricity during the flood season. Nowadays, the 'dual carbon' goal has brought new opportunities to the industrial development of the western region, and on the basis of the overall improvement of the capacity of 'west-to-east power transmission', the westward movement of industries and the layout of 'west-to-west power use' have also begun to accelerate. ”
Chen Haoyong also said: "With the 'north aluminum moving south and east aluminum moving west', electrolytic aluminum production capacity is concentrated in Wenshan, Yunnan and other places, and the power supply and demand situation in Yunnan has changed accordingly. At the same time, high-energy-consuming industries need to cooperate with load regulation and comply with the policy of dual control of energy consumption, and the power transmission capacity of the power grid at the sending end may change. ”
In this regard, Chen Haoyong believes that the western region should strengthen the construction of water, wind and solar multi-energy complementary projects of the "basin hydropower + new energy" base. "Multi-energy complementarity is one of the internationally recognized feasible ways to solve the problem of new energy consumption. In view of the huge number of power stations in the complementary system and the difficulty of centralized dispatching, the wind and solar power station pooling strategy can be introduced to realize the complementary coordination with the hydropower system with the wind and solar power station cluster as the object. In addition, energy storage systems such as pumped storage can also be promoted, increasing the regulation capacity of the power grid, and stabilizing the intermittency and volatility of new energy power generation; By building a 'hierarchical cluster' intelligent dispatching system for the power grid, the safe, economical and efficient operation of the power grid is guaranteed. ”
On the other hand, in the southeast, "electricity comes from the side" is becoming an important form of electricity supply in many provinces. Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and other provinces have emphasized the development of localized energy supply, especially renewable energy, to reduce dependence on long-distance transmission and improve the resilience and security of the power system. This strategy not only helps to improve the stability and reliability of energy supply, but also helps to promote the sustainable development of the regional economy. Taking Fujian Province as an example, as an important province on the southeast coast of the mainland, it has abundant hydropower, wind and solar energy resources, all of which provide good conditions for Fujian Province to realize "electricity comes from the side".
In an interview with China Energy News, the relevant person in charge of the Zhejiang Provincial Energy Bureau pointed out that "in order to solve the problem of power supply shortage in Zhejiang Province, we not only need to promote long-distance power input, but also plan and develop power resources in and around the region in advance, as well as innovative energy technologies." To this end, Zhejiang Province will actively build coastal nuclear power bases, offshore wind power bases and pumped storage bases. Through these measures, we hope to ensure the security of Zhejiang's power supply, while reducing the impact on the environment and promoting sustainable development. ”
"Evolution" to a diversified form, power grid technology is looking forward to new breakthroughs
The large-scale development and application of renewable energy puts forward higher requirements for the flexibility and performance of the power grid. "West-to-East Power Transmission" needs to accelerate the transformation from a single linear to a diversified form, strengthen the power grid on the basis of east-west interaction, and realize the interconnection and mutual assistance of other dimensions such as north-south and inter-provincial.
In the future, "west-to-east power transmission" will continue to be an indispensable way to ensure power supply in the eastern part of the mainland during heavy load periods. In order to further improve the efficiency of "west-to-east power transmission", Chen Haoyong suggested that we should continue to strengthen technology research and development and make new breakthroughs in high-voltage direct current transmission technology. "'West-to-East Power Transmission' mainly sends large-scale new energy power in the western region to the load center in a flexible DC mode, and in this process, power electronic devices are mainly distributed in high-altitude areas and face harsh natural environmental conditions. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the adaptability of high-power power electronic devices for high-voltage direct current transmission to high-altitude areas, and obtain the safety boundary of power electronic devices in high-altitude areas by carrying out atmospheric neutron accelerated irradiation tests in the implementation of the project. ”
At the same time, industry insiders believe that in the context of the steady progress of the construction of the power market, the "west-to-east power transmission" should build a flexible adjustment mechanism of "market-oriented, supplemented by overall planning and optimization", and actively adapt to the fluctuations of the priority power generation scale plan.
In this regard, Chen Haoyong said: "Through the establishment of a market-oriented power trading mechanism, we can more effectively regulate the supply and demand of electricity. At the same time, on the basis of the market mechanism, the overall optimization can be carried out to coordinate the allocation of power resources to adapt to the changes in demand under different circumstances. In the context of building a unified national electricity market, on the one hand, it is necessary to formulate unified cross-provincial power market construction goals and timing arrangements, and clarify the market size and development stage, so as to promote the coordinated development of various regions. On the other hand, it is recommended to gradually relax the access restrictions on inter-provincial electricity trading, promote more market players to participate in trading, and establish and improve the compensation mechanism for ancillary services in the inter-provincial electricity market to ensure reasonable cost sharing. ”
Text丨Reporter Dong Zitong Sunan
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Editor丨Yan Zhiqiang