China's NEA Calls for Energy Storage in Peak Services, DER

On February 10th, the NEA released its “Guiding Opinions on Energy Development for 2017” (2017年能源工作指导意见). In the context of broader targets laid out in the 13th Five Year Plan, the document represents a more detailed outline of development goals for 2017. In particular, the "Guiding Opinions" fleshes out the main tasks and goals for subordinate agencies to implement over the upcoming year, in line with the CPC’s strategic "energy revolution" initiative promoting a coordinated international cooperation advancing energy supply, systems, technology and consumption known as“Four Revolutions, One Cooperation" (四个革命、一个合作).

"Guiding Opinions" mentions energy storage several times as a key technology to develop in the upcoming year. In particular, the NEA identifies energy storage in the following sections:

"Strengthen and Reinforce Weaknesses in the Energy System"

The NEA calls for the need to increase peaking services and increase the grid system’s operating efficiency, through ameliorating power infrastructure bottlenecks and optimizing system-wide adjust-ability and flexibility.  To this end, the NEA promotes establishing an ancillary services market and compensation system along with accelerating the use of natural gas peaker plants. They also call for increased trials in fast-response coal power equipment, and promote continuing energy storage project demonstrations.

"Upgrade Energy Technology Equipment"

In this section the NEA identifies key technologies such as nuclear, renewable energy, shale gas, coalbed methane, gas turbines, and high temperature materials used in offshore oil and gas exploration. Additionally, they propose increase application of thermal solar storage uses and large-scale storage systems in conjunction with distributed energy systems.

The NEA also raises the need for establishing a strong standards body to guide the emerging “Internet+” Smart Energy field, electric vehicle charging, solar power generation, and energy storage industries.

"Social Welfare"

As part of energy substitution methods to decrease pollution and quality of life, the NEA mentions the need for improvements in peak and off-peak electricity pricing mechanisms in conjunction with encouraging adoption of energy storage and heat storage.

"Specific Engineering Tasks"

While this section consists of numerical targets implementing gas peaker plants, pumped hydro stations, and inter-province transmission and distribution tasks, the NEA is more cautious with energy storage, where instead of setting a numerical capacity mandate, rather lists off several key projects under construction with plans to finish within the year.

The 2017 "Guiding Opinions" in contrast with the the 2016 edition does not mention specific battery chemistries but sets more specific goals including the call for a standards body, and a more clearly defined potential and need for energy storage in peaking services and distributed energy resources. The 2016 edition called for developments in large-scale energy storage, in particular for all vanadium redox flow batteries, but was less clear regarding the role energy storage can play in the grid. Compared to 2016, the 2017 "Guiding Opinions" does show some evolution of the NEA's thinking regarding the technology. This year, a "Guiding Opinions" focused specifically on Energy Storage development is also expected. 

CNESA Co-hosts Forum on Storage Pricing

December 10, 2016 - CNESA, in collaboration with the Beijing Energy Club alongside the Asia Development Bank, hosted the international forum: “Energy Storage Pricing: Method and Mechanisms.” Hearing from both Chinese and international experts in power and storage markets, the forum served to illuminate storage investment and accompanying policies as well as viable business models in some of the world's principal markets. Speakers also discussed applications in the Chinese market with potential storage pricing policies and mechanisms under China’s power system marketization reforms.

Morning sessions were devoted to international perspectives on storage pricing mechanisms. Janice Lin of Strategen Consulting introduced the American market and various pricing and government-backed incentive schemes underway across the nation. Heiko Staubitz, of Germany Trade and Invest, introduced the German renewables market and major economic drivers behind storage profitability. Goran Strbac from Imperial College London, presented his research on power systems markets and Naoki Sakai with the Asian Development Bank introduced storage pricing in Japan.

The afternoon session was headed by Chinese speakers including CNESA Secretary General Tina Zhang, delivering her thoughts on energy storage and China’s 13th Five Year Plan, along with the National Development and Reform Commission head of the Pricing Institute Liu Shujie spoke on an energy storage demonstration project in Dalian, Liaoning Province along with preliminary insights into setting Energy storage pricing mechanisms. Over 160 industry representatives, government officials, and researchers were in attendance.

Sunday, following the forum, members of organizing committee visited CNESA Alliance member, Rongke Power's energy storage R&D and production center.  Rongke's storage division, founded in 2008, is one of the world's leading vanadium flow battery solutions providers. Rongke Power serves as a core member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Dalian Physical Chemistry Research Institute. Beginning research into vanadium flow battery technology in 2000, the company has grown with over 30 technology projects located across China, Europe and the United States today. 

Li Keqiang Calls for Breakthroughs in Storage Technology

Chinese Premier, Li Keqiang, who also serves as Chairman of the National Energy Committee, recently emphasized the central role of transforming energy production and consumption in sustainable development at an NEC meeting on November 17, 2016. Premier Li highlighted the need for breakthroughs in energy storage technology to effectively exploit China’s rapidly growing renewable energy capacity.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), National Energy Administration (NEA), National Energy Committee members, and other experts shared reports on their research. Premier Li, who presided over the meeting expressed the following, giving a view into the policy direction and priorities of the Communist Party. Li expressed that energy strategy is the pillar behind national development. At present, considering rapid changes in energy technology and changes to the global composition of energy supply and demand, China, as one of the world’s major energy exporters and consumers must capture the new opportunities. Li indicated that the Party will work to implement practical development plans, with supply-side reforms as the central theme. In all, the government aims to increase China’s competitiveness in the global energy industry, constructing clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient energy systems, to support China’s continued stable and sustainable economic development.

Sustainable energy development, Premier Li continued, relies on technology innovation and system reforms. He called for concentrated efforts to develop and exploit renewable energy resources, especially by way of grid integration, storage technologies, and breakthroughs in microgrid research. Through the Internet of Things construction of the “Internet+” and smart energy, China will upgrade the grid system adjust-ability, increase consumption of alternative energy sources, and develop highly advanced and efficient technology. Li expressed the need to actively encourage entrepreneurship, innovation, and the founding of new energy technology companies. While intensifying reforms in energy-related State Owned Enterprises, Li also signaled support of privately run enterprises entering the energy sphere. Such support can be achieved through marketization reforms, simplifying the regulatory processes, and transferring more rights to local governments, along with reforms in oil & gas drilling rights and reorganization of power transmission and distribution systems. Ultimately, the government aims to improve and encourage the development of distributed energy resources related mechanisms and policies, display the impact of market resource allocation, and the role government can play, all to establish a fair and competitive energy market.

To ensure energy security, Premier Li points out that China must take domestic and international concerns into mind, though based domestically, China must also look abroad for international cooperation. Especially in line with the Party’s “One Belt One Road” policy agenda, China seeks to increase international cooperation in production capacity, stregthening national competitiveness in energy equipment exports.

This article has been translated from the original Chinese, available here.

Power Sector Reforms Announced in China’s 13th Five Year Plan

Nov. 7, 2016 China’s National Development & Reform Commission along with the National Energy Administration (NDRC and NEA) jointly released the “13th Five Year Plan for Power Sector Development” marking 15 years since the last time a Five Year Plan was released on the development of China’s power sector. The last Five Year Plan for the power sector was released January 1, of 2001, as part of the “10th Five Year Plan.”

The NDRC estimates by 2020, Chinese electric power consumption will reach 6,800 TWh of electricity, increasing on average by 3.6-4.8% each year. The per capita use is expected to reach approximately 5,000 kWh by 2020. (According to World Bank data from 2014, this is on par with the current per capita rates from nations like Greece, Spain, and the United Kingdom.) With China’s growing needs for power and a 15% renewables target in mind, the plan calls for the following goals to be met over the next five years. 

Hydropower

Add 40 GW hydropower capacity, with total installation reaching 340 GW by 2020.

Wind Power

Increase wind capacity by 79 GW, with total installed capacity of 210 GW by 2020, of which 5 GW will include offshore wind projects.

Solar

Add 68 GW of solar bringing total solar capacity to 110 GW by 2020, of which distributed solar will be 60 GW and thermal solar will be at 5 GW. 

Nuclear

Put 30 GW nuclear power into operation, reaching total capacity of 58 GW by 2020. Due to safety concerns, priority given to construction in coastal regions.

Biofuels

Reach 15 GW of biofuels production by 2020.

Natural Gas

Increase natural gas capacity by 50 GW, by 2020 total capacity will be over 110 GW, with CCHP-coupled technology occupying 15GW.

Coal

Cancel/delay construction of coal plants over 150 GW in scale, capping coal generation capacity at 1,100 GW by 2020. Upgrade 420 GW of existing equipment with low-emissions technology, modify 340 GW of equipment to increase energy efficiency, and phasing out over 20 GW of old equipment. By 2020 all coal plants must waste less than 310g/kWh of coal.  

System Upgrades

• Promote a flexible electric system by increasing load shifting capabilities. Put into production 17 GW of pumped storage, bringing total pumped storage up to 40 GW.
• In China's North, update 133 GW of capacity with thermoelectric technology and modify 82 GW of equipment with condensing units. Other locations will receive condensing unit upgrades totaling 4500 GW in capacity. After upgrades, the focus will be on increasing load-shifting capabilities by 46 GW, 45 GW in China's North. 
• Increase transmission capacity by 130 GW to send power from west to east, bringing long-distance transmission capacity to 270 GW by 2020. 
• Accelerate construction of electric vehicle charging stations, bringing total centralized charging stations over 12,000, and distributed charging stations over 4,800,000. Strengthen smart charging systems to satisfy the needs of China's expected 5,000,000 electric vehicles. 

System Reforms

• Before the end of 2016, complete a electric power market mechanism. After which, power market trials will begin. 
• Before the end of 2017, set electricity transmission and distribution prices. 
• Ancillary services pilot for China's Northeast began in 2016, once the pilot has matured, an ancillary services market will be implemented nation-wide.
• Before the end of 2018, establish spot market pilots, with nation-wide implementation by 2020.
• Before 2020 cancel preferential rights for electricity generators. 
• By the end of 2018, complete work to cultivate sell-side market competition mechanisms, encourage the launching of new electricity distribution services. 

While the specifics of implementation are left to subordinate government agencies, the power development reform document certainly gives a glimpse at how China's power sector will shape up in the upcoming five years. The renewables targets for solar and wind are considered disappointingly conservative by some advocacy groups, and create uncertainty about China's previously explosive growth in wind and solar power will continue to expand. Despite this, however, the announcement of power sector reforms establishing electric power market mechanisms, spot markets, and ancillary services markets still creates enormous potential for energy storage participation, as CNESA Secretary General, Tina Zhang, explains here and here.

The original document is available in Chinese. 

CNESA Seminars in Beijing, Tianjin

The past two weeks were a busy and rewarding time for CNESA, successfully hosting two conferences.

Beijing, October 20 -- In coordination with Huaneng Clean Energy Research Institute, CNESA co-hosted the “2016 Forum on Applications of Energy Storage in Electricity Generation.” Presentations probed issues like how energy storage can support renewables consumption in electricity generation as well as the commercialization of distributed energy systems.  

Since entering in the “13th Five Year Planning Period”China has implemented several energy sector reforms, in which energy storage has emerged as a crucial technology essential for realizing future energy sector goals and targets. Beginning on the afternoon of the 20th, speeches covered topics such as: energy storage solutions in concentrated solar power generation and consumption, energy storage applications in wind farms, methods for wind power to hydrogen and wind power heating.

Over 150 guests attended, representing government, power companies, storage technology companies, new energy companies, and other related research institutes, all converging for a productive two days of dialogue, networking ,and cooperation. Manufacturers Zhongtian,  CATL Battery, Clou Electronics,  Sacred Sun, and Menshine, exhibited their latest advanced products and energy storage solutions plans. Nearly twenty media representatives also attended. All in all, the meeting was a resounding success, with presenters laying out requirements and steps towards energy storage applications and commercialization, and engaging in meaningful dialogues fostering future cooperation.

Tianjin, November 3 -- As part of the APEC – Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum on Sustainable Development, CNESA co-hosted a seminar titled “Research on Energy Storage Technologies to Build Sustainable Energy Systems in the APEC Region.” With representatives attending from New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, the Philippines, the United States, Thailand, Malaysia, Chile, and the People’s Republic of China, the seminar was a valuable platform for APEC member economies to share the status and requirements of energy storage and renewables development in their respective countries.

Cristiano Marantes, representing the New Zealand’s power service provider, Vector, introduced the company’s latest energy storage project located in one of Auckland’s residential neighborhoods. The Glenn Innes project is the first and largest grid-scale battery storage system in the Southern Hemisphere, using Tesla Powerpack battery technology with enough capacity to power 450 homes for 2.5 hours. Igor Skyrabin from Australia National University and Yi Jin from China’s New Horizon Capital both gave presentations detailing their respective research into economic modeling. Government representatives from the Philippines and Malaysia gave presentations regarding their country’s power systems and potentials for energy storage. Gaspar Escobar, representing the Philippines Department of Energy proposed applying energy storage as a way to provide power for many of the country’s small islands off-the-grid. Malaysia’s Paul WK Kiong from the Ministry of Energy introduced Malaysia’s efforts into promoting Malaysia’s electric vehicle manufacturing industry and called for the need for supporting battery technology. Other attendees included representatives from the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and companies Trina Solar, Shanghai Power and Electric Design Institute, and BYD. Representatives from ABB and EDF were also present.

The Tianjin seminar is the first of three stages in this APEC-funded project. The next stage will invite experts from APEC economies to conduct an energy storage project site visit in February of next year, and ultimately culminate in a final workshop in May of 2017 in Beijing. 

CNESA Unveils New Logo

CNESA continues to uphold our commitment to promoting a clean energy future for China through the development of energy storage technology. As such, we are pleased to announce CNESA's new alliance logo: 

The logo's blue color represents a pure, clean, and stable nature, while the orange battery charging motif nods to our industry members while simultaneously evoking sunlight, energy, and vigor. 

With an updated image, CNESA looks forward to working for China's bright energy future.   

Energy Storage Project Roundup

What exactly is happening in China? The world's highest elevation storage facility began operations, Chinese manufacturer GCL announced plans for a 500 MWh project, and what will be the world's largest Zn-Br flow battery components center was announced, to name a few. CNESA has prepared a roundup of some of China's latest energy storage projects that either came online or were announced this past month. 

Tibet Shuanghu County Renewable Energy Network (Now Operating)

Location:	Shuanghu County, Tibet
Companies Involved:	Owner: Power Construction Company of China – Northwest Engineering Storage providers: Corporation Clou Electronics Co., Sungrow Power
Key Specs:	13 MW solar PV station, 24 MWh battery storage system, 1.5 km of electricity lines and grid integration system.
	Clou Electronics won 3 MW/10.08 MWh in tender for off-grid energy storage and container system (6 total containers) to provide frequency modulation and voltage control for the system. Sungrow Power will provide the entire 13 MW of PV inverters and header boxes, Samsung SDI-Sungrow will provide 7 MW of storage inverters and a 13.6 MWh Li-ion battery system.
Notes:	The project, situated in Shuanghu County, Tibet, the world’s highest elevation administrative district, also represents the world’s highest elevation solar project. The project is part of an effort to power the region with a history of unstable electricity service, with residents relying largely on diesel generators and yak butter lamps, along with burning coal for heat during the cold winter months, resulting in negative health impacts on residents. The extreme elevation, high wind speeds, and adverse rain/snow conditions pose immense challenges for weatherizing the energy storage system equipment. Furthermore, the location only experiences an average 80 days per year without frost, thereby severely shortening the construction period.
Link:	http://www.szclou.com/company_news/349

Kehua Technology Large Scale Off-Grid PV Storage Project (Now Operating)

Location:	An oil field in Uzbekistan
Companies Involved:	Kehua Technology Co.
Key Specs:	1.2 MW distributed solar PV, 1 MWh lead acid colloid battery system
	Design includes inverters, battery container boxes, power distribution equipment. Principal functions: electricity generation and distribution, with Kehua providing system controls.
Notes:	System operations are divided into three modes:
	1) Solar generation ≥ load requirements: solar PV cells will provide electricity and diesel generators will stop running. The off-grid inverters will convert the solar electricity for use in the oil field and will charge onsite storage batteries.
	2) Solar generation < load requirements: [Stage 1]; solar cells and battery storage will provide electricity together. [Stage 2]; When battery charge is low, this will initiate diesel generators to begin providing the oil field with power, solar energy will be used instead for battery charging.
	3) No solar generation and insufficient battery charge: diesel generators provide the oil field with electricity without charging batteries. This guarantees that the critical equipment in the oil field can safely and stably continue operations.
Link:	http://www.escn.com.cn/news/show-353437.html

Foshan Industrial Park Energy Storage Station (Now Operating)

Location:	Foshan Liyuan Stainless Steel Distribution Center, Foshan, Guangdong Province
Companies Involved:	Investments from Green Energy Storage Research Institute (a subsidiary of GP Electric Power Group), construction and equipment by Clou Electronics Co.
Key Specs:	1 MW/2.8 MWh storage system used for decreasing peak and increasing off peak consumption
Notes:	The Foshan project is one of the first projects completed in the initial round of GP Electric’s "10,000 Storage Stations” project, an investment initiative announced in June of 2016 to build 10,000 energy storage stations across China within the next five years. The project has strict operations standards with a rapid delivery schedule, allotting only 45 days for construction time (including manufacturing and delivery).
Link:	http://www.escn.com.cn/news/show-353105.html

GCL Installs New Project and Ramps Up for a 500 MWh Li-ion Battery Product

Location:	Zhongneng Silicon Industries Co., Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province
Companies Involved:	GCL System Integration Technology Co.
Key Specs:	1.5 MW/12 MWh two-in-one lead-carbon battery/supercapacitor system to decrease company’s peak electricity usage
Notes:	Combining supercapacitor discharge and charging speed with the high charge capacity of a lead-carbon battery gives increased benefit with relatively long usage life.
Link:	http://www.escn.com.cn/news/show-352881.html

GCL's E-KwBe currently comes in multiple colors of 2.5 kWh and 5.6 kWh models.

GCL has called itself the “One-stop solution for comprehensive energy integration.” With its E-KwBe Li-ion battery model is hailed by many as the biggest threat to Tesla’s PowerWall battery systems (and cheaper too), their motto might be more than just marketing puffery. The Chinese manufacturer recently reached an agreement with the Australian wholesaler One Stop Warehouse to distribute another 1,000 E-KwBe units in October. The first batch of 1,000 units was already successfully delivered to Brisbane in September. Currently E-KwBe comes in 2.5 kWh and 5.6 kWh models. New documents show the company is also in preparations for developing a 500 MWh battery storage project. GCL recently raised nearly US$500 million in capital, of which it will siphon US$14.5 million into the the 500 MWh project. Total project investment for the 500 MWh project is estimated to be US$26 million, and is expected to take a year to complete. 

China’s First Off-Grid Solar + Storage EV Fast Charging Station (Now Operating)

Location:	Dongguan Yujia Industrial Park, Dongguan, Guangdong Province
Companies Involved:	Designed by Beijing Juneng Photoelectric Technology Co.
Key Specs:	Solar PV station will generate around 80 MWh daily, the storage station will have a capacity of 20 kW/100 kWh
Notes:	High voltage DC electricity from the PV will charge the Li-ion battery storage system, and high voltage DC will also provide charge for electric vehicles. Taking the Beijing Automobile Works EV160 model electric car as an example, the car is equipped with a 24 kWh battery. Charging from 30% to 80% capacity requires 12 kWh. On a clear, sunny day, this charging station could charge 6-7 EV160 models, each car requiring 40 minutes charging time.
Link:	http://www.escn.com.cn/news/show-353518.html

World’s Largest Production Center for Zn-Br Flow Battery Components Announced in Baoding 

Location:	Baoding Zhongguancun Innovation Center, Baoding, Hebei Province
Companies Involved:	ZBest Power Co.
Key Specs:	Once operations begin, ZBest expects an annual production capacity of 200 MWh of crucial battery components such as membrane separators and electrode plates. The expected annual production capacity of storage systems is 50 MWh.
Notes:	ZBest Power is also currently expanding solar PV electric vehicle charging stations in all major cities as well as along the national high way network.
Link:	http://www.escn.com.cn/news/show-349397.html

Shuandeng Group Enters Frequency Modulation Market in England

Location:	England
Companies Involved:	China Shoto Group cooperating with an English partner
Key Specs:	The planned storage system will be no lower than 80 MW in scale, providing frequency modulation services. The project will use Shoto’s proprietary high performance all-lead coil battery, which has fast charge and discharge speeds and performs well across a wide temperature range.
Notes:	According to Shoto’s CEO, Liu Xiaolu, the company plans to continue its efforts to expand in overseas storage markets.
Link:	http://www.escn.com.cn/news/show-348960.html

Sunwoda Distributed Storage Project Announced in Jiangsu

Location:	South Ruihaisheng Cable Co., Huai’an, Jiangsu
Companies Involved:	Huaian Electricity Supply Company with Sunwoda providing investments and maintaining operations
	Jiangsu South Ruihuaisheng Cable Co. providing land and access
Key Specs:	The planned 500 kW/10,000 kWh storage system expected to cut Ruihaisheng Company’s yearly electricity costs by US$70,000.
Notes:	In Jiangsu Province, the latest figures now stand at 16.58 MWh of storage has been installed, 154.25 MWh currently under construction, and 715.17 MWh of storage plans under discussion.
Link:	http://www.escn.com.cn/news/show-353334.html

Zhongtian Distributed Storage Project Demonstration 

Location:	Hekou Town, Rudong County, Jiangsu
Companies Involved:	Zhongtian Technology
Key Specs:	The project aims to construct three-in-one distributed PV, storage, and charging stations in 20-60 homes in Hekou Town. Each home will be equipped with PV integration, smart user controls, and 2-5 kW in storage.
Notes:	The project has already accumulated nearly US$6.5 million in investments, and explores applications for energy storage, emergency backup, frequency modulation and peak load shifting, as well as the operational and management requirements for a distributed energy generation/local consumption model. Ultimately the project hopes to achieve zero emissions, zero land use, and zero-distance transmission.
Link:	http://shupeidian.bjx.com.cn/news/20161013/780032.shtml

Parker Hannifin Leads in Inverter Suppliers

CNESA alliance member Parker Hannifin snags the lead in energy storage PCS (power converter system) suppliers according to a ranking by the German analytics firm, IHS Markit. Congratulations, Parker Hannifin!

More information available here.  

Energy Storage Emphasized in China's Latest Industry Plans

“Made in China 2025” is a policy initiative first released in May of 2015, aiming to comprehensively upgrade the nation's industry in the upcoming decade as China seeks to assume a leading position in global production chains. Soon after the initial release, a “1+X” expansion was announced, with “1” signifying the original document and “X” representing an additional 11 implementation and development guide documents.  On August 20, 2016, the first complete batch of these supplementary documents was released, including implementation guides for the “Big Five Engineering Sectors.”

The “Big Five” includes implementation plans for a manufacturing innovation center, strengthening industry, green manufacturing, smart manufacturing, and high-end equipment innovation engineering. The addition six documents cover themes ranging from human talent in the manufacturing industry, the information industry, the new materials industry, four development plans for the medical industry, developing service model manufacturing, to promoting manufacturing of quality products and equipment.

As these documents provide a clear indicator of the government’s development priorities, CNESA is pleased to report that several technologies in the electricity sector were highlighted in the “Big Five,” including energy storage. Some key elements of the document are listed below:    

Smart grids and renewable resources grid integration

• Calls for the increase the use of renewable energy, and promotes large-scale renewables sources entering the grid. In particular, calls for research and project demonstrations using wind and solar inverter/converters, allowing wind/solar energy to feed back into the grid.
• Calls for electricity generation from renewable sources and accompanying big data modeling and research analysis.
• Calls for the application of cloud computing and the Internet of Things to enable operations and monitoring as well as accompanying research and data analysis of such monitoring systems technologies.
• Calls for technology breakthroughs in the use of intermittent high voltage DC transmission and DC transmission in offshore wind farms.

High capacity electricity transmission technology & equipment

• Calls for overall mastery of manufacturing  1100 kV  scale ultra-high vacuum AC transmission equipment.
• Calls for independent research into earthquake resistant models using AC transformer bushing.
• Calls for developments in optical fiber sensors for passive optical current transformers.
• Calls for technology breakthroughs in converter transformer and converter transformer bushing, terminal device, smoothing reactor and DC transmission thyristor valves and other key equipment and parts, demonstration and application of combination of high capacity power transmission project to promote the construction of independent technical equipment.

Smart grid advanced technology equipment

• With smart grid project construction, calls for the opening of 500 kV/3000 MW flexible DC systems and supporting safety control equipment.
• Calls for core equipment for the Energy Internet, including advanced energy storage technology and smart transformers, among these goals seeking mastery of manufacturing smart transformers, 3D printing technology, user-end energy management systems as well as research and development into connector equipment technology.
• To extend the use of smart transformer equipment, calls for inspection and repair of existing transmission and transformer equipment, smart routing inspection of transformer stations, and automation of power distribution.

Electric energy storage and new high power electronics equipment and materials

• Calls for research and development into 10 MW grade compressed air storage, flywheel storage, high-temperature superconductor storage, high capacity supercapacitor storage, 10 MW scale flow battery storage, all vanadium flow battery storage, high performance lead-carbon battery storage, 25 kV aluminum sodium flow battery units, 100 MV grade titanium acid lithium ion battery storage.
• Calls for breakthroughs in materials such as SiC and GaN in wide-bandgap semiconductor devices, high voltage/high current switching devices and equipment, high voltage and large capacity solid-state power electronic converters, research and development in high voltage devices and packaging, and drive circuit design technology.

With the release of the implementation plans for the “Big Five,” we can see a priority on research and innovation as China updates its grid, indicating government support of the emerging energy storage industry.

For more information in the original Chinese, click here. 

CNESA Named Secretariat of CERS Energy Storage Committee

Special guests presided over the committee's inaugural meeting.

The China Energy Research Society (CERS) recently established a sub-committee focused on energy storage, naming the China Energy Storage Alliance as secretariat. CERS is a research body formed under the China Association for Science and Technology, responsible for informing China’s energy policy. On Wednesday, September 28th, the CERS Energy Storage Committee held its inaugural meeting at The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Center for Thermal Physics Engineering Research.

CERS Operations Director Shi Yubo, National Energy Administration (NEA) Deputy Head of Science and Technology Equipment Qi Zhixin, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Head of the Industry Advancement Center Liu Yingjun, and Counsellor to the State Council Wu Zongxin all gave introductory speeches. Energy Storage Committee head Chen Haisheng read the newly established guiding principles of the committee , presented the working report, officially announcing the committee’s formal inauguration and elections of the director, assistant director, secretary general, as well as vice-secretary positions. Chen Haisheng (CAS Center for Thermal Physics Engineering Research) was elected as committee director. For assistant director, the following were elected: Xia Qing (Tsinghua University), Lai Xiaokang (China Electric Power Research Institute), Zhang Huamin (CAS), Li Hong (CAS), Yu Zhenhua (CNESA). CNESA’s Zhang Jing was elected Secretary General while Xu Yujie, Liu Wei, and Li Zhen were all elected to the vice-secretary position.

A lively discussion among attendees. 

Assistant Director, Yu Zhenhua spoke on storage industry’s development, outlining the many aspects that can launch the industry, from national policy, technology innovation, manufacturing levels, applications, and business models. After formal speeches were made, a lively, free discussion period commenced.

Over 100 attendees converged, representing a wide array of organizations from government, power companies, energy storage technology companies, clean tech companies, and research organizations. The committee’s founding will further efforts to bridge industry representatives with policymakers, undoubtedly bolstering CNESA’s efforts to promote China’s promising energy storage industry. 

Zhuhai City Intensifies Electricity System Reforms

A wind turbine overlooks fields in Hengqin New Area, Guangdong Province.

The city of Zhuhai, Guangdong Province is known for its proximity to the Macau Special Administrative Region, much like Shenzhen is positioned relative to Hong Kong. Like Shenzhen, Zhuhai is also a site of many innovative economic experiments and reforms, most recently with the government announcing plans to implement pilot projects geared at buy-side reforms to its electricity system. The city will explore ways to employ efficient business models, giving local enterprises in several designated special economic zones more autonomy in managing grids and utilities. Projects in Hengqin New Area and Xibu Ecological Zone will give enterprises the right to operate smart microgids and sell their own electricity. Additionally the city has plans to use thermal energy generated in Hengqin to provide electricity for Doumen New Green Industrial Park, while East Jinwan District will rely on natural gas distributed generation to power smart girds. Based on market conditions, the city also plans to incrementally invest in electric services industries.

The city government will grant enterprises located in these advanced technology parks and economic zones the authority to manage microgrids and provide their own water, gas, and heating. Electricity generating enterprises can create their own marketing bodies within a defined scope, which can, over time, begin to resemble the structure of electric utility companies possessing rights to operate the grid. It is important to note, however, that these pilot enterprises, are limited in scope at the discretion of the governing body and are not permitted to establish “multi-layered bodies” to sell electricity in the marketplace. 

Total implementation of a buy-side distributed generation market appears to be quickly accelerating towards Doumen District and the distributed energy projects in Jinwan District. The pilot projects implemented will encourage industrial parks, commercial zones, and other newly created districts to implement natural gas distributed energy systems, and even in some other applicable cases, encourage distributed PV generation networks. Allowing distributed generation to enter the grid will encourage specialized energy providers to work with consumers ushering in a new model of “cooperative energy management.”

Click here for a news release from China Smart Grid (Chinese).

Renewable Integration Update: Northwest China

In the first half of 2016, newly installed wind plants in China’s northwestern provinces (Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, and Xingjiang) increased total grid capacity by 401 MW. At the end of June, 2016, the total accumulated energy from wind contributed 37.428 GW to the grid, making up 18.7% of total grid capacity. Additionally, in the first half of 2016, wind power generated 24.4 TWh of energy, representing 8.2% of energy generated by the grid. Of this, only 688 hours of energy were consumed, meaning 15.53 TWh was wasted, bringing the curtailment rate to 38.9%. Gansu, Xinjiang, and Ningxia ran up the most severe curtailment rates of 46.6%, 44.2%, and 20.9% respectively. Shaanxi province, on the other had had curtailment rates of only 3.0% and Qinghai province has yet to observe any curtailment.

In terms of solar PV, new installations in the Northwest added 1.787 GW to overall grid capacity, bringing the accumulated total to 21.942 GW installed solar PV capacity, composing 11.0% of grid capacity. Electric power generated from solar PV was 13.38 TWh, representing 4.5% of all grid energy generated. Of this, 611 hours were consumed, meaning 3.28 TWh were wasted, with a total curtailment rate of 19.7%. The highest rates of curtailment came from Xinjiang and Gansu province with rates of 32.4% and 32.1% respectively. Ningxia’s curtailment rate was 10.9%, Qinghai’s 3.2%, and Shaanxi, recorded its first instance of solar curtailment at 1.7%.

The data are summarized in the table below:

Data source: Northwest China Energy Regulatory Bureau (National Energy Administration)

This article has been translated from the original Chinese version. 

National Energy Administration Calls for "Energy Internet" Pilot Project Proposals

In order to encourage development and innovation in the Chinese “Energy Internet,” the National Energy Administration is calling for pilot project proposals to participate in this program. Applications should be prepared in accordance with the appropriate regional governing body and submitted to the National Energy Administration.  Each province, autonomous region, and or provincial level city will not exceed 5 projects each.   

The National Energy Administration is calling for project proposals that fall into two main categories:

1)      Integrated Energy Internet Pilot Demonstrations:

a.       Zone-level projects. For projects in economic development zones andindustrial parks constructed as clean energy hubs (using natural gas-powered combined cooling, heat, and power (CCHP); PV; wind energy; etc.).

b.      City-level projects. For city-wide projects aimed at integrating multiple types of renewable energy, constructing smart grids and EV charging stations, as well as implementing low-carbon construction methods and low-carbon public transportation.

c.       Regional-level projects. For regional projects geared at exploring methods of transmitting energy produced in one region for use in another. These projects aim to lower wind, water, and solar curtailment rates.

2)      Innovative Model Pilot Demonstrations: (for projects with each of the following as they relate to the “Energy Internet”)

a.       Electric vehicles

b.      Flexible resources

c.       Smart-use of resources

d.      Flexible green markets

e.      Industry-fusion

CNESA Successfully Co-Launches Training Course “Distributed Generation and Microgrids”

Shutterstock/robuart

Last month on June 14, 2016, CNESA, in partnership with North China Electric Power University, jointly launched a training course titled “Distributed Generation and Microgrids.”Chief specialist at the China Electric Power Research Institute, Xuehao Hu, conducted the session. All 19 members of CNESA’s secretariat were in attendance.

Hu began the lecture by introducing the background of distributed generation, its fundamental features, types of distributed generation networks, its prominent role in the energy sphere, as well as how China’s current technology compares to international developments in the field. It is currently estimated that by 2020, distributed generation will make up approximately 9% of all electricity generated in China (excluding small-scale hydropower, this number is closer to 5%), making distributed generation an important part of China’s electric generation system.

Hu continued by introducing the interconnected issues of distributed generation and the grid. Connecting distributed energy sources to the grid poses many challenges. First, there are design problems in the traditional grid as well as connectivity issues. Energy generated by renewable sources also, by its very nature, is intermittent and relatively unpredictable. Furthermore, the economics of grid planning poses a whole new set of challenges.

Next, Hu presented a detailed discussion on how China should formulate its own set of standards on distributed generation. While it is important to refer to already established European and American standards, Hu argues China must also consider the different circumstances in its own energy landscape. Thus, he concluded, Chinese standards can draw inspiration from, but cannot entirely resemble those of the U.S., Europe, and other developed nations.

Regarding microgrids, Hu highlighted the principal difficulties and key technologies associated with microgrids. Compared to distributed generation networks, microgrids have been in development for a relatively short time. Consequently future construction and design efforts must give sufficient consideration to technological concerns, economics, as well as natural variables in the environment (i.e. temperature, availability of light, sun, air, etc.) Careful design of microgrids, Hu argues, is how we can keep costs low and reap the largest benefits.

To make his final point, Hu pointed out that distributed generation and microgirds in the form of solar power are, in fact, already widespread in China’s poorest regions. Hu hopes that advances in distributed generation and microgrids can and build off of and deepen these existing networks.

With the successful completion of this first training course, CNESA will continue to strive to integrate resources from government, scientific experts, and private industry in order to provide alliance members with the highest quality content and services. 

CNESA Co-Hosts Symposium on Mass Energy Storage in Renewable Energy

Symposium participants gather for a group picture. 7.15.2016.

On July 15, 2016, more than 40 experts and industry leaders in renewable energy and battery storage convened in Beijing to discuss how to adopt mass energy storage technology in wind and PV power generating systems. The event was co-organized by the China Electric Power Research Institute, BYD Electric Power Research Institute, China Energy Storage Alliance (CNESA), and the Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China.

Tina Zhang, secretary General of the CNESA, served as host of the event, while Zifeng Zhang, BYD Electric Power Research Institute’s Chief Engineer, delivered the keynote address. There were additional speeches by representatives HuamingZhang, Chief Engineer of Rongke Power; Shicheng Wang, CEO of Beijing Soaring Electronic Technology; Jianlin Li, Head of Electrical Engineering at the China Electric Power Research Institute; as well as Zhi He, Chief of Sales at Sunwoda Electronics.

The featured guests gave speeches centered on implementing mass energy storage technology in renewable energy generating systems. Some topics discussed were large in scope such as factors affecting total adoption of renewable energy sources to generate power. The rest of the topics largely centered aroundbattery storage, including the role of battery storage stations in transmitting electricity generated by renewable sources and comparing and contrasting the characteristics of grid-integrated and independent battery storage stations. Methods to integrate such storage stations into renewable power generating systems were also discussed.

CNESA’s research and government affairs teams, drawing from a now deeper understanding on symposium topics on energy storage usage, technological advances, costs measures, and policy recommendations, look forward  to continue their efforts to develop renewable energy in China.

NY-BEST Energy Storage Roadmap

In January 2016, NY-BEST (New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium) publicly released a report titled ‘Energy Storage Roadmap for New York’s Electric Grid.’ NY-BEST sees energy storage as a key technology capable of making NY’s grid cleaner, more efficient, more cost-effective, and more flexible and reliable.

Source: NY-BEST

In March 2015, NY-BEST convened its ‘Capture the Energy 2015’ conference, where discussion led to the initial ideas of the roadmap, which concentrated on grid sectors. The report received funding from NYSERDA, and the support of NYSERDA, National Grid, NYISO, AES Energy Storage, Saft, Tesla, DNV GL, and other internal government, grid companies, ISOs, technology companies, energy companies, aggregators, and research organizations. The report shows the state government’s aim to build new oversight and market mechanisms, allowing for the comprehensive monetization of energy storage’s value. As well as building financial platforms, providing financial support, and decreasing project financial risks. Building standardized methods, rules, and laws and other means of decreasing soft costs and realizing the 15 year development goals:

2017: Establish standardized safety rules and regulations
2018: Fix NYISO’s market rules to allow storage to participate in the wholesale electric market. (Lowering the electric market’s capacity sizing restrictions, allowing customer-sited storage assets to participate in the electric markets, etc.)
2019: Provide detailed distribution system data for local zone prices. (Improve local management of distributed assets).
2020: Decrease the soft costs of energy storage by 33%
2022: Energy storage installed capacity to reach 1 GW (NY-BEST, 2012 roadmap’s goal)
2025: Energy storage installed capacity to reach 2 GW (reducing peak load, strengthening grid reliability and flexibility)
2030: Energy storage installed capacity to reach 4 GW – 50% of electric installations come from renewable energy, greenhouse gasses reduced 40%.
2050: Greenhouse gasses reduced 80%.

Source: GTM

New York grid-scale pipeline: startlingly small – 28 MW in operation and 0 in development as of end of 2015.

Source:GTM

However, the state is not without economic potential for ES when incentives are included.

Source: GTM

Source: GTM

New York could be even more attractive in the future in less conservative cases.

Source: GTM

Source: GTM

Driver: T&D Investment Deferral – Barrier: Monetization

To avoid a $1B T&D investment, ConEd proposed spending $200M on behind-the-meter load management and an additional $300M on traditional substation upgrades. At projected rates of load growth, ConEd needs to reduce or realign the timing of 52 MW of load by 2018 to avoid overloading the substations. This comes to about 120 hours of about 26 MW of ES each summer during substation peak events.

The value assigned to storage for providing this service is calculated using an assumed installed cost of $1B and an equipment carrying charge of 12%, resulting in an annual deferral value of $120M. It is assumed that this value is distributed equally between the energy storage fleet (paid out over two years) and the energy efficiency/demand response programs.

In this scenario, the above distribution upgrade deferral only accounts for 1% of the ES unit’s time, creating over half its revenue and allowing it to provide other services. Still, this does not seem enough to cover costs under the given conditions.

Source: RMI

Source: RMI

Projects

Green Charge Networks does have a major demonstration presence in the state – 6 of the 13 projects in operation (331 kW 694 kWh total), with 1 project under construction (96 kW 96 kWh). The GCN demonstration projects were commercial in application and commissioned in 2013 and 2014. Given their specs, it is unclear if they qualified for the below ConEdison demand management subsidy, while they did receive partial federal funding under the DOE’s Smart Grid Demonstration Program.

The market is surprisingly diverse. GCN is the only standout.

50 kW over 4 hours is 200 kWh at full charge. This implies that a device must be larger than 50 kW 200 kWh to get the incentives, however, since aggregations are allowed, there may be more flexibility. GCN’s 6 operational projects come in above this line in aggregate, though their individual installations seem to be closer to 100 kW 100 kWh.   

Incentives

Below are the key features of ConEdison’s energy storage and load shifting incentives.

Incentives are based on the average output kW discharged over On-Peak Hours, provided at least 50% of the incentivized battery capacity is discharged continuously during all On-Peak Hours.

Projects or portfolios must have a combined peak demand reduction of 50kW or greater. Peak Demand Reduction (kW) is defined as the system-coincident peak demand reduction that occurs during the summer capability period, between the hours of 2pm-6pm, Monday through Friday, from June 1 through September 30, excluding legal holidays.

Incentives are capped at 50% of installed project cost.

Source: ConEdison

Source: ConEdison

Given the state’s interest, we expect energy storage to gain access to more and more revenue streams and service markets in the near future. Since utilities like ConEd are procuring many energy storage systems themselves, they may be able to internalize enough benefits through their own usage to make the projects viable, similar to how distribution company Oncor did in Texas. CNESA will continue tracking the development of the high-potential New York energy storage market.

Germany’s user energy storage subsidy's second phase

With the successful implementation of the first iteration subsidy policy, the next iteration’s goals, new requirements, and the forecast standards it aims to reach.

Germany’s Federal Ministry of Economics, new PV+storage subsidy plans went into effect on March 1, 2016 and to continue until the end of 2018, has received a total of 30M EUR.

The goal is to strengthen grid flexibility and realize energy storage technology cost reductions. To ease grid pressure/congestion, battery energy storage was given even higher set standards. BESSs receiving funding are permitted to sell half of the PV system’s peak power back to the grid, with the remainder stored temporarily in the battery.

The subsidy’s funding comes from KfW, Germany’s state-owned development bank and provided similar to loans. The Ministry of Economics will strengthen oversight of BESS development, and continue evaluating new plans. In the original subsidy program, KfW had a budget of about EUR 60M, which funded about 19,000 ESSs, stimulating about EUR 450M in total investments.

As of end 2015, over 35,000 homes and commercial operations had installed PV-storage systems. Germany Trade And Invest (GTAI) expects a boom in deployment in 2016-17, reaching annual installation volumes of 50,000 systems by 2020; though other sources from the same organization post a number as high as 100,000 systems installed annually by 2018. The retrofit market will also be quite significant. 

Other entrants - Utilities

One factor to watch in the German market is the actions of utilities. Many have announced or launch their own PV+storage products, as German utility E.ON did recently. E.ON is of particular interest as it is handling the transition to new energy by splitting the company in two, spinning all traditional assets off into a separate company. E.ON is developing its own electricity storage system in partnership with Dresden-based SOLARWATT GmbH, which last year successfully launched an award-winning electricity storage system called MyReserve. The first E.ON models will be rolled out in Germany in a few months and will be available in increasingly larger numbers going forward. The storage devices will employ a modular design, and as such it will be easier to increase capacity in the future. The system will also come with an energy app visualizing the production and consumption for the customer.

Note: In January 2016, E.ON announced a partnership with Samsung SDI for grid and C&I customers.

Large Scale Energy Storage for Europe

Courtesy: Niccolò Caranti/Flickr

Member news -- Gravity Power, LLC and Gravity Energy AG are pleased to announce that they signed a twenty year exclusive license agreement.  In exchange for the right to sell Gravity Power plants in Europe, Gravity Energy AG will pay license fees, will fund Gravity Power’s seal system development and will fund a 1 MW, 30 minute demonstration plant currently planned for construction at the site of the Stadtwerke Weilheim municipal utility in Weilheim i OB, Bavaria.  Initial seal development work is planned at this site and will take approximately six months.  Site geotechnical investigation and the construction of the demonstration plant are planned to start in 2016.

“For some time we have believed that our patented technology will provide the lowest cost solution for utility scale energy storage applications”, said Tom Mason, CEO of Gravity Power.  “We are excited to demonstrate this technology.”

“Europe and more specifically Germany are world leaders in wind and solar power generation.  As such they need a balancing system like the Gravity Power technology provides.  These plants will help Germany realize its plans to replace nuclear energy and carbon emitting gas fueled plants with less expensive renewable energy and carbon free storage that will deliver the wind and solar energy when needed.” said Horatio von John, CEO, of Gravity Energy AG.

Gravity Power, LLC is a gravity-based utility scale energy storage company located in Goleta, California.  It holds patents on its proprietary technology in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Russia, China and Japan, with patents pending in Europe and other major markets.

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Gravity Energy AG is a German corporation located in Tegernsee, Bavaria established to demonstrate this technology and to bring the proprietary Gravity Power technology to the European market.

Parker Ships Record 113 Megawatts of Energy Storage PCS in 2015

Member news -- The Energy Grid Tie Division of Parker Hannifin Corporation, the global leader in motion and control technologies, realized shipments of energy storage power conversion systems (PCS) totaling 113 megawatts, bringing cumulative worldwide deployment to over 225 megawatts. The first megawatt-class system went on line in 2008. While the majority of the systems are connected to lithium ion batteries, many successfully linked flow batteries to the grid.

The 890GT-B, a 2 megawatt (2.2 MVA) rated outdoor PCS, accounted for the majority of the high-power installations, with indoor and modular variants covering lower power requirements or facilities that preferred to house the inverters in a building. The addition of outdoor-rated, climate controlled lithium-ion battery containers and full turn-key solutions further contributed to Parker’s growth in the market.

“Our modular product design and advanced controls allow us a great amount of flexibility and ability to respond to our customer’s specific needs,” said Jim Hoelscher, General Manager of the Energy Grid Tie Division of Parker Hannifin. “Additionally, our advanced cooling technology allows for a compact design as well as higher efficiencies than that of conventionally cooled systems.”

Installations in 2015 spanned the globe. In North America, Parker installations were concentrated in the PJM market (part of the Eastern Interconnection grid), but significant progress was also made in the MISO (Midcontinent Independent System Operator) and CAISO (California Independent System Operator) territories. Offshore sites included a 16 megawatt system in Korea, 20 megawatts in Chile, with others in Australia, Japan, Germany, Northern Ireland and The Netherlands. Applications include fast-frequency regulation, micro-grid support and roadside vehicle charging stations.

Parker is able to offer a superior energy storage product by leveraging cutting-edge control, HMI and advanced cooling technologies, as well as applied engineering and commissioning and expertise at the system level.

“Parker has a major presence and extensive experience in the renewable energy and power generation market. We understand the needs of all partners, from battery suppliers and EPC contractors to independent power producers and utilities, and what it takes to ensure smooth commissioning, reliable operation and maximized uptime,” said Hoelscher. “Additionally, this year, our aftermarket services will be greatly expanded to meet and exceed the expectations of this expanding market. Heading into 2016, Parker is poised to grow in both sales and aftermarket service support sectors.”

Visit the Energy Grid Tie Division at www.parker.com/egt for more information on Parker’s energy storage products.

IET Publishes Study on Phase Change Storage

In a study published in the Journal of Power and Energy this month, researchers at the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics in Beijing presented results showing how to improve the functionality of phase change thermal storage devices using innovative design.

Phase change energy storage is an excellent way of storing vast amounts of energy as heat. However, conductivity has proven to be an issue, limiting the charge/discharge rate and round-trip efficiency.

To better understand the problem, researchers conducted a numerical study on a unique energy storage design integrating three types of phase change materials. Results showed that a cascaded phase change material design greatly increases the heat transfer rate and reduced charging time.  

Flowchart describing experimental set-up. Source: IET, Chinese Academy of Science

This is the latest of IET's achievements in energy storage. In October 2015, IET announced new international patents for supercritical CAES.