China's green energy development forces provide important support for the global energy transition
——Interview with He Jijiang, Director of the Policy Development Research Office of the Energy Internet Innovation Research Institute of Tsinghua University
Reporters Liu Bojing, Wang Yi, Li Xinzhi, Liu Qinzhuang, and correspondent Yang Wenchang
Tsinghua University is a member of the University (Youth) Working Group of the Belt and Road Energy Partnership Cooperation Network. During the second "Belt and Road" Energy Ministers' Meeting, He Jijiang, director of the Policy Development Research Office of the Energy Internet Innovation Research Institute of Tsinghua University, was interviewed by reporters to share the research progress of topics related to the green development of the "Belt and Road" and talk about the important role of universities and young people in creating a green energy future.
China Electric Power News: What advantages do you think China has in the "Belt and Road" green energy cooperation?
He Jijiang: First of all, our country's renewable energy development is in a leading position in the world. In terms of hydropower, China's installed capacity and equipment scale rank first in the world. In terms of wind power and photovoltaics, China is the world's largest installed country for wind power, the largest installed country for photovoltaic power generation, and the largest producer of photovoltaic equipment. Many countries have a very large demand for China's photovoltaic power plant construction experience and photovoltaic equipment, and China can bring help to these countries.
At present, the global photovoltaic production from silicon to modules, about 70% to 80% of the scale in China, that is, the production capacity of all other countries in the world except China, about 1/4 to 1/3 of China. It can be seen that the demand for Photovoltaic modules in China in the global energy transition is very large. Recently, China's photovoltaic industry is still increasing in scale, especially silicon. At present, we understand that about 2 million tons of silicon material are planned to be produced. If all of these devices are put into production, the cells produced could meet the 1,000 GW of photovoltaic installations worldwide, which will provide important support for the global energy transition.
At the same time, the cost of photovoltaics in China has dropped to the parity level, which can help most parts of the world to achieve parity in photovoltaic power generation, that is, the cost of photovoltaic power generation has been lower than the cost of local fossil energy power generation, which is also an important driving force brought by China's photovoltaics to the world's energy transformation.
China Electric Power News: Energy development is not only a matter in the energy sector, and the impact of green energy development is not limited to the energy field. What are your thoughts on the green complex development of energy?
He Jijiang: China has rich experience in this regard. A considerable part of China's photovoltaic power plants are built in desert areas. We have observed that the ecological environment in these areas has improved significantly in the past 10 years. Because the site was leveled during the construction of the photovoltaic power station, and due to the blockage of the photovoltaic panels to the sun, the evaporation of the land moisture under the photovoltaic panels was significantly reduced, which was more conducive to the growth of vegetation.
Some areas have built roads and irrigation facilities at the same time as building photovoltaic power plants, which can achieve the coordinated development of agriculture and photovoltaics. For example, on the Loess Plateau in the Yinchuan ravines, the land is bulldozed, and the wood whiskers and goji berries are planted under the photovoltaic power station, and the local soil quality has improved after a period of time, which is more suitable for vegetation growth. Photovoltaic power plants not only bring economic benefits, but also realize vegetation restoration, ecological restoration, agricultural development, and increase income for local people. This composite model is already very mature in China, and many developing countries have a strong demand for it.
In uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, for example, the Aral Sea covers an area of more than 60,000 square kilometers, but most of it has now dried up, especially in Uzbekistan, where land salinization and desertification are very severe. The scientific research team of Tsinghua University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences has carried out research with the local government, carried out ecological restoration, introduced photovoltaic power generation, that is, the composite model of photovoltaic and ecological restoration, and launched a series of explorations. On the one hand, this can improve the ecological situation in the Aral Sea and the surrounding areas, bring more employment opportunities to the local people, and help the large-scale development of renewable energy in these countries and replace fossil energy.
China Electric Power News: Tsinghua University is a member of the "Belt and Road" Energy Partnership Cooperation Network University (Youth) Working Group. What important responsibilities do you think universities and young people have in green energy development and energy cooperation, and what role should they play?
He Jijiang: Our generation has an important responsibility, that is, when handing over the environment to the next generation, we must deal with the main environmental problems well, and do not leave the consequences to the next generation. So we must not only take on this responsibility, but also give young people the ability to take the baton.
We sent student representatives to attend the conference. They will all become builders of the "Belt and Road" green development youth partners. In addition, Tsinghua University and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification have established cooperation, and now two of our students are interning at the secretariat of the United Nations Industrial Organization to Combat Desertification in Germany. Through such work and learning opportunities, these young people will learn more cutting-edge knowledge and understand the situation in all walks of life. This helps young people burst out with more creative power.
Reporters: Liu Bojing, Wang Yi, Li Xinzhi, Liu Qinzhuang
Correspondent: Yang Wenchang
Photography: Wang Fei, Fan Chao, Xu Ke