Photothermal power bidding is expected to be complementary to the development of solar thermal and photovoltaic

Shi Lishan, deputy director of the New Energy and Renewable Energy Department of the National Energy Administration, recently revealed that China is about to launch the first round of solar thermal power generation concession bidding project, which is undoubtedly the signal that the country will increase its support for solar thermal power generation. For a time, solar thermal power generation, a “pro-sister” of solar photovoltaic power generation, began to move from the back to the front, and was called “the protagonist of the future new energy field”. So, what is the development prospect of this industry? The reporter recently conducted an interview investigation.

Photothermal power generation suddenly heats up
This summer, solar thermal power generation has begun to heat up because of the good news that China will launch the first round of bidding projects in Inner Mongolia.

Photovoltaic power generation refers to the use of solar cell technology to convert light energy into electrical energy. Photothermal power generation refers to a technique in which solar energy is concentrated and steam is supplied through a heat exchange device to drive a steam turbine to generate electricity. Prior to this, solar power generation mainly appeared in the form of photovoltaic power generation. According to the statistics of the International Solar Energy Society (ISES), in 2009 alone, the installed capacity of photovoltaic power generation in the world exceeded 6 million kilowatts. By the end of 2009, the installed capacity of solar thermal power plants connected to the world by the end of 2009. Only about 700,000 kilowatts.

Compared with photovoltaic power generation, CSP technology has its advantages. In view of the overcapacity, high energy consumption and high pollution encountered in the development of the photovoltaic industry, especially in the development of crystalline silicon solar energy, some countries and regions have begun to encourage light and heat and limit photovoltaics.

Ma Shenghong, director of the Renewable Energy Research Center of the Institute of Electrical Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told the China Energy News: "Compared with photovoltaic power generation, CSP is more convenient to connect with the current domestic grid, because the basic principle of CSP is similar to that of thermal power. At the same time, CSP also has the advantages of stable performance and the ability to use peak heat storage technology to achieve peak shaving. In addition, CSP does not face the high-tech technology such as polysilicon purification like photovoltaic power generation, which belongs to the traditional industry. In this regard, China has With good industrial infrastructure, as long as the country has relevant support policies, the supporting products and technologies related to the industry can develop rapidly."

Development prospects are facing hidden concerns
The above-mentioned positive factors and the business opportunities brought about by this have made the industry look forward to the development prospects of CSP. But at the same time, its future prospects are also facing many hidden concerns. Li Junfeng, deputy director of the Energy Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission, believes that CSP has no technical problems, but there are too many restrictions and the future development prospects are not clear.

It is understood that CSP is only suitable for areas with an annual radiation of more than 2000 kWh/m2, and the slope of the land cannot exceed 3%. More importantly, CSP also requires a large amount of water for cooling. Generally speaking, the 50 MW CSP system uses about 150,000 square meters of water per year, which is basically the same as that of thermal power. The problem is that the areas that meet the above sunshine and land use conditions are mostly in the northwest and southwest, and the water source is relatively scarce. Although CSP can also be cooled by air cooling, the cost will be much higher.

Jiang Qian, chief researcher of CIC's energy industry, told the China Energy News that compared with wind power and photovoltaic power generation, China's CSP is still in its infancy, lacking relevant installation experience and operational experience, so the domestic large power company Most of these projects take the form of cooperation with foreign companies. This has also become a bottleneck restricting the development of China's solar thermal power generation.

Light and heat, photovoltaics have a market
Although the industry is still controversial about the development prospects of this industry, more people believe that in the context of the growing solar power market in China and the world, both the solar thermal and photovoltaic technologies have markets, and they are indispensable. Therefore, it is more likely to complement each other and develop together. Ma Shenghong said: "Photothermal and photovoltaic have their own advantages and development prospects. There is no direct conflict between the two. In the better development of solar power generation, there should be both CSP and PV systems." In renewable energy In the development of various technologies, various technologies are developing rapidly. The future power structure in China will surely be a system of multiple complementary renewable energy sources.

It is understood that the main problem currently facing CSP is that its cost must be rapidly reduced by means of scale effect. That is, although the unit cost of small-scale photothermal is high, as long as the scale is large, tens of megawatts and hundreds of megawatts cost. It will decrease. According to Huang Ming, Chairman of Huangming Solar Group, “Power companies must expand their scale on the basis of demonstration projects. This is an inevitable choice to reduce costs. If a 1 million kilowatt solar thermal power station is built, its initial investment can basically be controlled. In the 15,000 yuan - 20,000 yuan / kW, then the on-grid price is about seven or eight cents (per degree). This is more price advantage than last June's Dunhuang PV project price of 1.09 yuan / kWh.

This scale effect determines that CSP will be mainly used in large-scale power station construction, and its energy storage and similar thermal power generation principles make the grid more acceptable to its power. The scale of photovoltaic power generation is relatively small, and it is more suitable for small power stations and distributed power. For example, where large-scale solar power stations can be built without a large amount of open space, it is attached to the photovoltaic power generation system of off-grid or grid-connected construction.

Jiang Qian said: "The National Development and Reform Commission recently announced that it will start two projects of 280 MW photovoltaic power generation and 50 MW CSP, and hopes to understand their respective development stages and cost levels through bidding, and promote the moderateness of the two industries. development of."

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