Grid Consumption Limits New PV Projects

    According to statistics from the National New Energy Consumption Monitoring and Warning Center, as of the end of 2019, the penetration rate of PV installations in various provinces ranged from 1.9% to 34.8%. Sichuan Province had the lowest, while Qinghai Province had the highest. Fourteen provinces exceeded 10%, as shown in the chart below.

    As the penetration rate of PV projects continues to rise, consumption issues are becoming increasingly severe. In the parity and bid submission processes of 2019 and 2020, grid company's consumption opinion letters have become essential documents for applications. To control the non-increase of curtailment rate, grid companies strictly limit the installation scale of new PV projects. In the 2019 bids, many projects in various provinces couldn't participate in the bidding due to limited consumption in their provinces. It's evident that the future growth of PV is constrained by the grid's consumption capacity.

    To solve this dilemma, PV power station investors are actively exploring. "PV + Energy Storage" and "PV + Hydrogen Production" are the two most favored methods currently.

PV + Energy Storage is Blossoming Everywhere!

Xinjiang: 221MW PV + 446MWh Energy Storage

    In July 2019, the Xinjiang Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration Xinjiang Supervision Office formally issued a notice on piloting joint operations of PV and energy storage. By participating in these pilot projects, an extra 100 hours of priority power generation is added annually, lasting for five years. The energy storage station will implement the PV station's pricing policy, operating integrally and enjoying corresponding subsidies. Ultimately, 36 energy storage projects from ten companies were selected, with a total scale of 221MW PV + 446MWh storage.

Tibet: 220MW PV + 1.12GWh Energy Storage

    In 2019, Tibet's average curtailment rate was as high as 24%! In August 2019, Tibet initiated the first batch of PV storage demonstration projects, prioritizing support for energy storage systems built next to existing PV power plants in Lhasa, Shigatse, and Chamdo. These should not exceed 200MW/1GWh in scale, while also encouraging the construction of a 20MW PV + 120MWh storage project in the Ali region. The total scale is 220MW PV + 1.12GWh storage.

Datong, Shanxi: 300MW PV + 9MWh Energy Storage

    According to the "Datong City Energy Revolution Comprehensive Reform Pilot Action Plan," three 100MW PV plus 3MW storage pilot projects were planned to be completed in Datong City in 2020. To implement this plan, a flat-rate PV power generation project has been planned in Huyuan County, Datong City, Shanxi Province, with a construction capacity of about 200MW PV + 6MW storage. This project will construct a 220kV booster station. The energy storage station will be built near the PV booster station, connecting three 2MW storage inverters and three 2MW/ 2MWh storage stations from the PV trunk bus, achieving energy storage and release. The total investment for the project is approximately 920 million RMB, with a proposed construction period from April 2020 to December 2020, totaling eight months.

First National Storage Bidding Project: 100MW PV + 10MWh Energy Storage

    On March 18, 2020, Huadian Xintai Chaohui New Energy Co., Ltd. issued a tender notice for the procurement of storage device equipment for a 100MW ordinary PV power station bidding project. According to the announcement, the total installed capacity of the PV project is 100MW, the total capacity of the storage system is 5MW/10MWh, divided into two 2.5MW/5MWh sub-units, and the grid voltage level is 35kV. Bidding grid-connected PV projects have lower returns, and pairing with storage will further reduce the project's return on investment. This is also the country's first storage-matched grid-connected PV project.

Inner Mongolia Bidding Project: Prioritizing "PV + Energy Storage"

    With the example of Huaneng Shandong's storage-bidding project in place, other provinces are bound to follow suit. Inner Mongolia's "2020 PV Power Generation Project Competitive Configuration Plan" clearly states: Prioritize the construction of "PV + Storage" and requires grid companies to combine the role of "PV + Storage" in improving consumption capacity to further demonstrate the increased consumption capacity of PV power generation in their operating areas.

PV Hydrogen Production has a Promising Future!

1.First Domestic PV Hydrogen Production Project Lands

    In December 2019, the first domestic solar fuel production demonstration project, led by the team of Academician Li Can of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was launched in the Fine Chemical Park of Lanzhou New District. The project consists of PV power generation, electrolyzed water hydrogen production, and carbon dioxide hydrogenation to produce methanol. It achieves electrolyzed water hydrogen production by supplying power from a 10MW PV power unit to two electrolytic cells with a power of 1000 cubic meters/hour.

2. Jingneng Power: 5GW Photovoltaic Hydrogen Production

    On March 13, 2020, Jingneng Power signed an agreement with the Etoke Banner in Inner Mongolia for a 5000MW wind, photovoltaic, hydrogen, and storage integrated project with a total investment of 230 billion yuan. The project was planned to start construction in 2020 and be completed and put into operation in 2021. Among them, the 5000MW photovoltaic project has an investment of 200 billion yuan, and the green energy island has an investment of 30 billion yuan.

The project mainly utilizes idle land from coal mine collapse areas, industrial building rooftops, and other policy-permitted areas to construct 5000MW of distributed photovoltaic. Using the "self-generation + surplus power to the grid" model, it provides daily electricity for enterprises in the industrial park or nearby residents. Taking advantage of the favorable wind and solar power prices, there are plans to construct a green energy island capable of producing 20,000m³/h of hydrogen and oxygen, and 200,000m³/h of nitrogen. Through pipelines or transport vehicles, it supplies nitrogen, hydrogen, and compressed air to large enterprises in the Ningdong Coal Chemical Park, International Chemical Park, and Environmental Protection Industrial Park. At the same time, research is being conducted on using hydrogen as a fuel for heavy trucks to replace traditional fuel vehicles, reducing the costs of coal, ash slag, and logistics transportation for companies in the park.

3. Sunshine Power: 1GW Photovoltaic Hydrogen Production

On July 22, 2019, the county government held a signing ceremony with Hefei Sunshine New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. for a 300MW photovoltaic and 50MW hydrogen production comprehensive demonstration project.

    On September 25, 2019, the Tunliu District of Shanxi Province held a groundbreaking ceremony for a 200MW photovoltaic power generation project (Phase I) and a signing ceremony for a second phase 500MW photovoltaic hydrogen production project in Wuyuan Town.

Conclusion

     Whether it's "photovoltaic + energy storage" or photovoltaic hydrogen production, both have effectively explored ways for the consumption of renewable energy. With further reductions in the cost of photovoltaic electricity and the maturation of energy storage and hydrogen production technologies, it is hoped that these two new technologies will become effective means to break the consumption constraints on the photovoltaic industry!