4 The Transition of China’s Power System
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(3) Integrated energy and power system with multi-energy complementarities
The new-generation power system has evolved along with China’s energy transition.
It will no longer be an isolated system of power production and consumption, but
main part of the larger new-generation energy system of the country and an expansion
and upgrade of the smart grid notion toward a comprehensive energy system. Such
a system can be further subdivided into two types based on the reality of integrated
energy utilization in China:
1. Source-end integrated energy system. The western region of China is blessed with
an abundant supply of various forms of renewable energy resources, promising
enormous potential for energy production. However, due to spacial limitations
of power transmission and other technical constraints, the capacity of the WestEast power transmission project has been held below 600 million kW. While local
consumption of power should be maximized, a great amount of electrical energy
must also be converted into other forms of energy for storage and transportation.
Therefore, the establishment of a source-end integrated energy system in China’s
northwest is imperative. Such a system will allow for complementarities among
hydro, wind, solar and clean coal to transmit power to the central and eastern
parts of the country through a DC transmission grid; greater local consumption
through heating, cooling, industrial consumption and other means; and production of hydrogen and methane by electrolysis for local consumption as well as
for eastward transmission through natural gas pipelines.
2. Consumption-end integrated energy system. Serving primarily the eastern parts
of China, the system aims to enhance energy efficiency and bring down total
energy use. At present, thermal power generation remains the dominant source
of electricity in China, with a thermodynamic efficiency of between 30 and
40%, calling for an integrated energy system to upgrade energy efficiency. The
system is mainly comprised of a clean energy-based regional integrated energy
system that caters to the diverse needs of users, distributed energy systems that
directly interface with various types of end users under the active distribution
network as well as a multitude of energy storage and renewable energy microgrids. The combined cooling-heating-power (CCHP) system based on natural
gas and clean power is shown in Fig. 4.2, and the user-oriented integrated energy
system architecture is shown in Fig. 4.3.
(4) An intelligent power system and energy internet featuring deep cyberphysical integration
The pace of progress in the ICT industry has prompted gradual integration of various
energy systems and Internet technologies to create an energy internet where information and energy interact at a level never seen before. If one examines the traditional power system through the lens of the Internet, one can see that the way the
centralized and distributed power sources are connected to hundreds of millions of
households through massive interconnected transmission and distribution networks
is naturally characterized of networks. In fact, the end-users of traditional power
systems have long enjoyed “plug-and-charge” without needing to know which power
107
(3) Integrated energy and power system with multi-energy complementarities
The new-generation power system has evolved along with China’s energy transition.
It will no longer be an isolated system of power production and consumption, but
main part of the larger new-generation energy system of the country and an expansion
and upgrade of the smart grid notion toward a comprehensive energy system. Such
a system can be further subdivided into two types based on the reality of integrated
energy utilization in China:
1. Source-end integrated energy system. The western region of China is blessed with
an abundant supply of various forms of renewable energy resources, promising
enormous potential for energy production. However, due to spacial limitations
of power transmission and other technical constraints, the capacity of the WestEast power transmission project has been held below 600 million kW. While local
consumption of power should be maximized, a great amount of electrical energy
must also be converted into other forms of energy for storage and transportation.
Therefore, the establishment of a source-end integrated energy system in China’s
northwest is imperative. Such a system will allow for complementarities among
hydro, wind, solar and clean coal to transmit power to the central and eastern
parts of the country through a DC transmission grid; greater local consumption
through heating, cooling, industrial consumption and other means; and production of hydrogen and methane by electrolysis for local consumption as well as
for eastward transmission through natural gas pipelines.
2. Consumption-end integrated energy system. Serving primarily the eastern parts
of China, the system aims to enhance energy efficiency and bring down total
energy use. At present, thermal power generation remains the dominant source
of electricity in China, with a thermodynamic efficiency of between 30 and
40%, calling for an integrated energy system to upgrade energy efficiency. The
system is mainly comprised of a clean energy-based regional integrated energy
system that caters to the diverse needs of users, distributed energy systems that
directly interface with various types of end users under the active distribution
network as well as a multitude of energy storage and renewable energy microgrids. The combined cooling-heating-power (CCHP) system based on natural
gas and clean power is shown in Fig. 4.2, and the user-oriented integrated energy
system architecture is shown in Fig. 4.3.
(4) An intelligent power system and energy internet featuring deep cyberphysical integration
The pace of progress in the ICT industry has prompted gradual integration of various
energy systems and Internet technologies to create an energy internet where information and energy interact at a level never seen before. If one examines the traditional power system through the lens of the Internet, one can see that the way the
centralized and distributed power sources are connected to hundreds of millions of
households through massive interconnected transmission and distribution networks
is naturally characterized of networks. In fact, the end-users of traditional power
systems have long enjoyed “plug-and-charge” without needing to know which power