What is the current situation of the wind power industry? What are the challenges? How to solve the problems encountered in the replacement of wind power equipment?
Large-scale equipment refreshes in the energy sector are attracting attention. At the end of August, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration issued the "Implementation Plan for Large-scale Equipment Renewal in Key Energy Areas", and the National Development and Reform Commission recently held three "two new" policy landing press conferences, a series of actions aimed at promoting the upgrading of new energy fields such as wind power and photovoltaics.
What is the current situation of the wind power industry? What are the challenges? How to solve the problems encountered in the replacement of wind power equipment? The reporter of "China Energy News" conducted an interview on the practical problems faced by the replacement of wind power equipment.
It is in line with the policy of "exchanging the big for the small".
At present, the upgrading of wind power equipment in China mainly revolves around the following aspects: first, the single capacity of wind turbines is gradually increasing, from the early 1.5 MW and 2 MW units to the current mainstream units of more than 3 MW, in addition, larger capacity offshore wind turbines are being developed and applied; Second, the power generation efficiency of wind turbines has been significantly improved, and the new units have been greatly improved in terms of low-speed start-up, high-speed stability, and power generation efficiency; Third, wind power equipment tends to be intelligent, integrating more sensors and intelligent control systems, which can realize remote monitoring, fault prediction, performance optimization and other functions; Fourth, the operation and maintenance services of wind power equipment have been continuously upgraded, and the operation and maintenance efficiency and safety of wind farms have been improved through the use of technologies such as drone inspection and big data analysis. Fifth, with the expiration of the service life of wind power equipment, some old units have begun to be retired and replaced by new, high-efficiency units.
The industry believes that this year's "two new" policy and the wind power policy proposed a few years ago may overlap or complement each other in the implementation process. For example, in the process of implementing the policy of "replacing the small with the big", there is also a need to renew equipment using new technologies. The implementation of the "two new" policy may also promote the increase of single machine capacity. "Both are important components of China's wind power industry policy system, and jointly promote the healthy development of the wind power industry." The relevant person in charge of Sunshine Wind Energy told the reporter of China Energy News.
You Mingyang, Secretary of the Party Committee, Director and General Manager of Jinkai New Energy, also said in an interview with the reporter of China Energy News that the "two new" policies involve a wider range of funds and greater financial strength. From the three press conferences held by the National Development and Reform Commission, it can be seen that the state attaches great importance to equipment replacement. The policy of "replacing small with large" and "two new" policies are in the same vein in promoting equipment renewal and improving energy efficiency. The "two new" policies encourage enterprises to upgrade equipment by providing financial support and incentives, including equipment renewal in the wind power industry. The "large instead of small" policy is the specific implementation of equipment renewal in the field of wind power, which is in line with the direction of energy-saving and carbon-reduction transformation advocated in the "two new" policies, and will help promote the green transformation and high-quality development of the wind power industry.
"There are two ways to replace wind power equipment: 'isochoric transformation' and 'capacity increase transformation'. At present, some provinces have implemented projects, and the relevant approval process has been relatively mature, using the original project related procedures for re-declaration, re-completion of project filing, etc., compared with new projects, saving overburden mines, land approval and other procedures. You Mingyang said that in terms of equipment transformation, according to the actual situation of the project, it is necessary to carry out the transformation of booster stations, collector lines, and new booster stations.
Funding and technology are the main challenges
When it comes to the problems encountered by enterprises in the process of replacing wind power equipment, the interviewed industry insiders agree that capital and technology are the main challenges faced by equipment replacement in the wind power industry.
As we all know, the replacement of wind power equipment requires a large amount of capital investment, and the energy industry is an industry with a long payback period. At present, the upgrading of wind power equipment depends on the project situation, and the power grid side needs to be upgraded synchronously. During the planning of the power grid, it is necessary to consider the later access issues simultaneously and plan in advance.
Solar Wind Energy believes that in the actual wind power replacement process, the new wind turbines adopt many new technologies, and enterprises need to ensure that existing technical personnel can adapt to these technologies, or invest in additional training costs. In addition, the integration of new wind turbines into the grid may encounter technical difficulties, and it is necessary to coordinate with the grid company to ensure the smooth operation of the new equipment into the grid. New wind turbines may require different O&M strategies and tools, and enterprises need to establish corresponding O&M systems.
In You Mingyang's view, the first is to accelerate the introduction of specific implementation plans in various places to ensure that there is a specific implementation process for the replacement of wind turbines, to ensure that wind power enterprises bear the responsibility for the disposal of decommissioned equipment in accordance with the law, not to illegally dispose of decommissioned equipment, and improve the scrapping management system to improve the efficiency of scrapped asset disposal; The second is to cultivate and eliminate equipment recycling enterprises, encourage third-party enterprises to carry out the recycling of eliminated equipment, and guide and support the construction of retired new energy equipment recycling industry clusters in some key areas in combination with the production and decommissioning of wind power equipment in various places, and support central enterprises to play a leading role in demonstration; The third is to increase the research and development of the utilization technology of the eliminated wind turbine equipment, incorporate the research and development of the recycling technology of retired wind power equipment into the national key research and development plan, develop the residual life assessment technology of the equipment, and promote the continuous utilization and cascade utilization of equipment and key components.
Strengthen technology research and development and innovation
How to solve the above problems? In addition to the policy support given at the national level, enterprises need to continue to increase R&D investment, carry out joint research with upstream and downstream wind power enterprises and universities, and develop more efficient and reliable wind power product solutions for mainstream models in the current market, so as to improve the efficiency of replacement.
To promote the high-quality upgrading of wind turbines, the interviewed industry insiders agreed that the first is to strengthen technology research and development and innovation, continue to invest in research and development, and promote the technological innovation of wind turbines, including improving efficiency, reducing costs, enhancing reliability and extending service life, etc., to ensure that new wind turbines can be smoothly connected to the grid; The second is to optimize supply chain management to ensure the stable supply of components for new wind turbines and reduce delays caused by supply chain problems; Third, through training and education, improve the adaptability of existing employees to new technologies, and at the same time attract high-end technical talents to join the wind power industry; Fourth, formulate and update technical standards and specifications for wind turbines to guide the healthy development of the industry; Fifth, encourage collaboration and cooperation between different regions, share resources and technologies, and jointly promote the upgrading of the wind power industry.
The above-mentioned relevant person in charge of Sunshine Wind Energy suggested: "In terms of the disposal of old wind power equipment, we should reach an agreement with the whole machine manufacturer to cooperate with the dismantling, recycling and reuse of equipment; In terms of O&M, we organize and carry out professional quality training for O&M personnel to improve O&M skills to adapt to the growing O&M challenges. ”
Original title: Wind power equipment replacement faces financial and technical challenges
Text丨Reporter Sunan