POWER December 2013 - 36

RENEWABLES IN CHINA
A Plan for Optimizing Technologies
to Support Variable Renewable
Generation in China
Between 2011 and 2015, China plans to add eight major wind generating bases
with a total capacity of 65 GW and two solar photovoltaic installations exceeding
10 GW. With all that variable generation planned, the nation must
determine how to integrate it into the grid while ensuring grid stability.
Researchers from North China Electric Power University propose a plan
that takes into consideration the best options on a regional basis.
Zeng Ming, Li Shulei, and Xue Song
R
ecently, the variable generation (VG)
industry has been strongly promoted
in China to advance sustainable energy
development, especially for wind power and
solar photovoltaic (PV) power, which have
entered rapid development periods. For example,
wind power installed capacity in China
doubled every year for four consecutive years
beginning in 2006, while large-scale solar PV
power plants have been integrated with the
grid since 2010. But more is to come.
According to the country's renewable
energy development plan, the eight biggest
wind power developments will gradually be
constructed during the 12th Five-Year Plan
period (2011-2015) in Hebei, west Inner
Mongolia, east Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Shandong,
Jiangsu, Jiuquan, and Hami. The installed
capacity of each base may exceed
10 GW, and the total capacity will reach 65
GW. Additionally, two massive PV power
bases will be constructed from 2020 to 2030
in Jiuquan and Qaidam basin, each with an
installed capacity exceeding 10 GW. Those
wind and PV developments are mainly located
in Northeast China, North China, and
Northwest China, where wind and solar resources
are abundant. The Chinese government
has issued a series of regulations, such
as the Renewable Energy Law, to guarantee
renewable power integration.
In China, regions abundant in wind and solar
energy are usually remote areas far from
load centers and the main grid. Therefore, a
current major initiative to solve integration
and demand problems is constructing more
large-scale transmission lines to enable VG
power consumption over a wider area so as to
make use of the large-scale and concentrated
wind power and solar power bases (Figure 1).
36
www.powermag.com
POWER | December 2013
Variable energy sources such as wind and
solar have characteristics of randomness,
intermittency, and low capacity coefficient.
Additionally, local load consumption ability
is limited, which challenges the local
and region power systems' safe and stable
operation. These problems become more
significant as installed wind power capacity
increases.
The first problem concerns power system
security. Eighty wind turbine tripping accidents
occurred in 2010, and 193 wind turbine
tripping accidents occurred by August 2011.
The second problem is that wind power is
difficult to integrate into networks. The installed
capacity of wind power accounted for
3.06%, while power production from wind
only accounted for 1.18% of total generation,
and this number still hadn't exceed 2% by the
end of 2011.
Construction of large-scale transmission
lines could help distribute variable energy
over a wider range for more-distant use. Now
the primary problem is to determine the
optimal supporting technology investment
program to back up VG and solve the safety
problems posed by VG integration. The
determination of peak-shaving power supply
type and scale, as well as demand-side
management and cross-regional transmission
management are involved. Hence, a technoeconomic
evaluation of VG resource integration
supporting technology investment
program is needed.
1. Solar siting. The 320-MW Longyangxia solar photovoltaic power plant is located in Qinghai
Province in Northwest China and is owned by China Power Investment Corp. Courtesy: Ding
Haisheng, China Power News Network

http://www.powermag.com

POWER December 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of POWER December 2013