Virtual power plant is activating energy storage resources

According to a recent CCTV financial report, investigations in Guangdong, Zhejiang and other places have found that Virtual power plant are coming into reality, aggregating resources such as Charging station and energy storage, to ensure power supply.

 

Virtual power plant is to use the energy Internet technology to aggregate the Charging station, energy storage, air conditioning, distributed photovoltaic and other power load resources idle in the end user, and optimize and control them to participate in the grid operation.

 

According to estimates of relevant institutions, by 2025, the average annual investment and construction scale of Virtual power plant will reach 20 billion yuan, and the operating market scale will be more than 5 billion yuan annually.

 

Aggregated Charging station
Virtual power plant "cut peak and fill valley" to benefit consumers

 

In the underground parking lot of an office area in Shenzhen, dozens of Charging station are charging new energy vehicles. At two o'clock in the afternoon, the electricity peak in Shenzhen is approaching. These Charging station receive instructions from the backstage Virtual power plant to reduce the charging power and realize off peak charging.

 

In Shenzhen, 18000 Charging station are connected to the Virtual power plant management center, which can respond to the power grid dispatching at any time for peak shaving and obtain corresponding benefits, some of which will eventually be transferred to the owner.

 

Wang Yang, CEO of a certain energy digitization company founder: We only need to dispatch a charging gun, and a dialog box will pop up for car owners who are using it to charge. We will ask if they are willing to accept a power reduction at this time point. Your charging time will increase by 30 minutes, but you can get a 50% discount per kilowatt hour.
In the Virtual power plant management center in Shenzhen, power load side resources such as Charging station are aggregated and controlled through technologies such as "5G+edge computing", which is equivalent to a "cloud power plant" and can quickly dispatch Shenzhen's massive new energy vehicle charging demand.

 

Cheng Renli, General Manager of Virtual power plant Management Center: This year, the number of electric vehicles in Shenzhen has reached 830000. By 2025, we predict that the battery power will be 50 million kilowatt hours, which is really a great resource for Shenzhen. The construction cost of Virtual power plant is about 1/10 of that of traditional power plant.
At a fast charging station in Haining, Zhejiang, 1:00 noon coincides with the low point of local electricity consumption, where the price of electricity per kilowatt hour has been reduced to 0.6 yuan. A large number of new energy operating vehicles are queuing for charging. This charging station is also connected to the local Virtual power plant platform. At noon, when the photovoltaic power generation capacity is large, it consumes clean energy to fill the valley for the grid.

 

 

Wang Yang, the founder and CEO of an energy digital company: The Virtual power plant system can mobilize these electric vehicles to "cut peak and fill valley". Virtual power plant does not produce electricity, but is the "mover" of electricity. By using bits to manage watts, the natural flow of electricity can be achieved under the guidance of AI (artificial intelligence) and algorithms.

 

Virtual power plant activates energy storage resources
Enterprises actively benefit from "increasing reserves"

 

In addition to Charging station resources, energy storage projects are also important resources of Virtual power plant. After the access to Virtual power plant, how can the energy storage project realize profit recovery of investment, and what new business types and business models will be generated?

 

CCTV reporter Pingfan: In Shenzhen's Baoqing Energy Storage Power Station, there are Lithium iron phosphate battery removed from buses and cars, which is also a step by step battery utilization project. The whole project is like a "super power pack" that can hold 12 million degrees, and can also be used in the scene of Virtual power plant in the future. Provide peak shaving services for the power grid during peak electricity usage.

This system is composed of 122000 battery cells that were scrapped and dismantled from 80 buses and 76 cars, with a remaining service life of about 5 years. The conversion efficiency of the battery can reach more than 90% of the new energy storage battery, which has already met the requirements of scheduling access to Virtual power plant.

 

In Hefei, Anhui, the local Virtual power plant was officially connected to 25 power stations to participate in auxiliary peak shaving. During peak electricity usage, it can provide a load resource of 13000 kilowatts, which is equivalent to the electricity load of over 2000 households, and can also bring certain benefits to enterprises. Virtual power plant has officially entered the stage of commercial operation in Anhui. In addition, in Shanghai, the power exchange station is being piloted to become an energy storage facility to realize charging and discharging, access to Virtual power plant, and increase the use efficiency of batteries.

Zhang Jianping, co-founder of a power exchange operation enterprise: let the battery interact with the power exchange station and the power grid, and notify the power exchange station to temporarily stop power supply when reaching the peak. If electricity is still needed, switch to a power station for reverse supply.
In Zhejiang, a large number of photovoltaic equipment manufacturers invest in the construction of energy storage equipment connected to Virtual power plant, charging at low power consumption and discharging at peak. On the one hand, the peak valley price difference of electricity is used to recover investment and save production costs; on the other hand, Virtual power plant is used to participate in power peak shaving to obtain additional benefits.

Qiu Longjiang, Director of Energy Storage Business at a certain photovoltaic enterprise: Based on the current operating situation, investment costs can be recovered in about 5 years.

Wang Suijun, director of the scientific and technological energy storage center of a photovoltaic enterprise: If the revenue from the demand side response of the Virtual power plant can be realized, the energy storage of industry and commerce or the load side will usher in a very rapid development stage.

 

'Electricity+computing power' gathers sand into a tower
Virtual power plant promotes the emergence of new business types

 

Virtual power plant aggregates familiar power load resources around, including air conditioners, Charging station, energy storage, etc. How to make good use of these dispersed resources and obtain profits, computing power has played an important role in it, and "electricity+computing power" is promoting the accelerated implementation of new business formats.

In Zhejiang Jinhua Yiwu Small Commodity Market, a commercial building has just been connected to the Virtual power plant platform. During peak power consumption, peak shaving can be achieved by adjusting the air conditioning temperature and lighting. Each kilowatt hour involved in the regulation can earn 8 yuan of income.

Huang Dezhi, business staff of the Virtual power plant of State Grid Yiwu Power Supply Company：said that if the peak power consumption is calculated by two hours, it is 1800 kilowatt hours, which can earn about 14400 yuan.
The command center of Zhejiang Jinhua Virtual power plant can intelligently control load resources such as building air conditioners, adjust temperature in real time, and communicate with the power trading center, so that resource suppliers can obtain economic benefits.

Hou Jiansheng, Head of Virtual power plant of State Grid Jinhua Power Supply Company:In the future, through the rapid connection and response of the system, the integration of sand into a tower can gradually improve the access capacity of air conditioning. After the interaction is completed, our subsidies will be distributed by the aggregator.
In Hubei, the State Grid connected 13000 local 5G base stations to the Virtual power plant, with adjustable load exceeding 38000 kilowatts, and built an integrated control system based on Virtual power plant using computing power.

Wang Hongbo, Director of Virtual power plant Construction Office of State Grid Hubei Electric Power Control Center:Incorporate adjustable air conditioning, lighting, electric vehicles, 5G tower base stations and other distributed load resources into the control system, and deeply explore and leverage the load side's ability to participate in grid regulation.
Industry insiders said that at present, the construction of new power systems is accelerating, and Virtual power plant can balance the instability of new energy such as wind power and photovoltaic through the support of computing power.

Zhang Haichun, General Manager of State Grid Haining Power Supply Company:It is equivalent to a newly established primary model of artificial intelligence, equivalent to the L1 level of safety in autonomous driving. In the future, if it is simulated with a large amount of computing power, its ability and efficiency to cope will reach a higher level.
According to estimates of relevant institutions, by 2025, the average annual investment and construction scale of Virtual power plant will reach 20 billion yuan, and the operating market scale will be more than 5 billion yuan annually.