Can solar thermal power usher in the golden period?

Recently, Yikebo Energy Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.'s 1MW solar thermal power plant successfully generated electricity in Sanya, Hainan. This move has caused a lot of attention in the industry. What is the difference between solar thermal power generation and photovoltaic power generation? What are the prospects of domestic industry? Today, the development prospects of the photovoltaic industry are confusing today. The first thing that people pay attention to is:

Photothermal or photovoltaic?

Simply put, solar thermal power generation is a clean energy utilization method that can concentrate large-scale power generation. It collects direct sunlight from the sun, converts solar energy into heat by heating water or other medium, and then uses the same process as the traditional thermodynamic cycle to form high-pressure and high-temperature steam to promote the operation of the steam turbine generator set, and ultimately heat energy. Turn into electricity.

Compared with photovoltaic power generation, the characteristics and advantages of CSP power generation are: through the heat storage technology, it can provide stable Power Supply capacity, has the ability of frequency modulation and peak shaving, has little impact on the power grid, and has high system efficiency and low cost of power generation; Combined with traditional thermal power stations to form a joint power generation model; significant scale benefits.

The oil crisis of the 1970s made solar thermal power generation as an alternative energy source attracting the attention of various countries. The earliest commercialized thermal power plants were built and operated so far. The successful operation of these power plants validates the technical feasibility of CSP.

According to the prediction of the authoritative international organization, solar thermal power generation may meet 7% of global energy demand by 2030, and even meet up to 25% of global energy demand by 2050. The U.S. government think tank also predicts that global light-heat solar power capacity will double every 16 months in the next five years.

At present, solar thermal power generation has completely passed the test phase and is beginning to enter the stage of large-scale commercial operation. Yao Zhihao, Ph.D., Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, said: “The government is currently looking for new energy sources that can play a role of substitution. From this perspective, CSP should be the most promising new energy source.”

Advantage or short board?

In terms of solar energy utilization, the share of current solar thermal power generation is even negligible compared with photovoltaic power generation. Does this mean that the fatal defects of CSP are so unfavorable?

Many experts do not agree with this view and believe that both are important forms of solar power generation. From a technical point of view, CSP is more suitable for basic energy, and PV is more suitable for distributed energy. Both have their own characteristics and should be complementary rather than competitive.

The greatest advantage of light and heat lies in the friendly operation of the grid, continuous heat storage, scale effect, and clean production. Therefore, it is the most conditional to gradually replace the thermal power as the basic power load. The greatest advantages of photovoltaics are their flexibility and efficiency, their low requirements for light, their small footprint, and their modular deployment. They are therefore more suitable for supplementing energy in cities and are used in off-grid power plants and distributed energy sources.

“CSP is likely to occupy half of the solar power generation within five years,” Yao Zhihao said. “CSP was launched at the start of the launch of concession bidding, the domestic application market and the manufacturing sector started simultaneously, and there is an industrial base for low temperature utilization. It is expected that a complete clean energy industry chain will be formed in China from materials to manufacturing to system integration and eventually applied."

This view has also been approved by Xue Liming, Chairman of China Haiyang New Energy Power Co., Ltd.: “It is expected that by the end of the Twelfth Five-Year Plan, China’s photovoltaic and solar thermal energy will reach a 1:1 ratio.” China National Cheng Hung New Energy Power Co., Ltd. The company is a company that has grown up relying on photovoltaics. However, the company turned its main investment from photovoltaic to heat and light five years later. “In 2015, the proportion of photovoltaic and solar thermal in Zhonghaiyang will reach 1:1,” said Xue Liming.

From an international perspective, CSP is now becoming a hot spot for solar energy use. At the end of 2008, the global installed capacity of solar thermal power generation was only 436 megawatts. However, the thermal power generation industry has gradually become hot. In 2009, the World Bank announced that it will invest US$5.5 billion in solar thermal power projects to combat climate change. The European Dessertec project, which has attracted worldwide attention, will also invest 400 billion euros to establish a 200-kilowatt solar-thermal power station in the Sahara Desert and provide 15% of European electricity supply by 2050. According to the statistics of the International Energy Agency (IEA), by the beginning of 2010, the installed capacity of global CSP power generation is close to 1 GW, and the construction and planning projects have reached 15 GW; according to incomplete statistics, the current construction is expected to be put into operation around 2012. The installed capacity of CSP is about 1.9 GW.

Researcher Ma Shenghong of the Renewable Energy Research Center of the Institute of Electrical Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences also stated that solar thermal power generation has become a hot spot for the development of renewable energy in the world, and there are no obstacles in the country.

Technology or policy?

On January 20 last year, the Ordos 50 MW trough solar thermal power project in Inner Mongolia was opened. This is China's first privileged bidding project for CSP, marking an important step towards the commercialization of CSP in China. On June 1st last year, the “Guidance Catalogue for Industrial Structure Adjustment (2011 Edition)” promulgated by the National Development and Reform Commission was formally implemented. Among the new energy categories encouraged in the Catalogue Encouraged category, solar thermal power generation was placed first.

All major power groups have begun to plan for solar thermal power projects. At present, CLP has invested in Golmud, Qinghai, Huadian in Jinta, Gansu, and China Guangdong Nuclear Power in Delingha, Qinghai. All of them have 50MW of CSP projects. In addition, power generation companies headed by China's five major power groups have set up specialized research teams involved in solar thermal power generation. Some projects in Qinghai and other places have entered a substantive preparatory stage.

In the long run, solar thermal power generation is a promising form of solar energy utilization. However, at present, large-scale deployment still needs to solve problems such as technical routes, industrial chains, costs, and energy storage methods. Its development will be a process of gradual improvement.

Accelerating technology upgrades is the key. Li Junfeng, deputy director of the Energy Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission, said: “From the standpoint of the development strategy of solar thermal power, improving the independent innovation capability and technology upgrading speed of solar thermal power generation can provide strong support for solar thermal power generation.”

Everything depends on reducing costs. In recent years, China has made breakthroughs in key technologies for solar thermal power generation, and demonstration projects for tower, trough, and dish systems are under construction.

Support policies need to be refined. “From the current point of view, despite the overall policy support efforts, there are no substantive rules, such as compulsory support policies such as electricity purchases and subsidies. If these uncertainties are not eliminated, domestic supply chain companies may be able to cater to foreign market configurations. Resources," Yao Zhihao said. It can be seen that only policies and technologies can be used with double force to make the promising industry of light and heat bright and glowing.