"New energy + energy storage" should seize the opportunity of "carbon neutrality"

The newly released "Guidelines for the Safety and Stability of Power Systems" (GB38755-2019) requires that power supplies should have primary frequency modulation, rapid voltage regulation, and peak regulation capabilities. With the increasing proportion of photovoltaic wind power generation, the frequency modulation demand of the power grid is increasing. By the end of 2020, 18 provinces and cities have issued relevant documents to encourage or require new energy distribution of energy storage. Hunan, Hubei, Inner Mongolia, Shandong, Shanxi, Hebei and Guizhou have clearly stipulated the energy storage ratio, and the proportion of energy storage configuration ranges from 5% to 20%. Although Liaoning, Henan and Xizang do not require specific energy storage configuration proportions, the relevant documents clearly give priority to new energy configuration energy storage projects in the process of reviewing new energy projects.

At present, new energy configuration energy storage projects are generally considered to be new energy distribution energy storage devices, especially chemical batteries. However, there are many kinds of flexible resources, including flexible thermal power, pumped storage power station, gas power station, fuel power station, energy storage, and adjustable load, etc., which should be coordinated and optimized from the perspective of the system to participate in the operation and regulation process of the power system.

Second, the market mechanism and related incentive mechanism are not sound.

Affected by the lack of institutional reform, the imperfect market mechanism and the low degree of marketization, China's new energy power generation has always been a problem of absorption. At present, energy storage has some problems, such as low technical and economic efficiency, independent and decentralized location, low utilization rate, limited cost channels and profitability.

Due to the differences in the scale of new energy development, power grid structure, and the degree of peak resource gap in different places, the strong distribution of energy storage has brought greater cost pressure to new energy enterprises. Although the cost of electrochemical energy storage shows a downward trend year by year, it is still as high as 0.6-0.8 yuan /kWh, which is much higher than the cost of 0.21-0.25 yuan /kWh of pumped storage power stations. In addition to installation and operation costs, additional costs such as financing costs and project management fees are also high. Due to factors such as subsidy decline, fund arrears, and affordable Internet access, the profit space of new energy projects is gradually compressed, and the lack of a reasonable mechanism for allocating energy storage and clear investment recovery channels brings limited returns, and the enthusiasm of enterprises to build is low, leading to the contradiction between new energy and power grid enterprises in some provinces.

The third is the lack of relevant standards for electrochemical energy storage.

The electrochemical energy storage industry has been developing for more than ten years, but the relevant standards have not been improved, the energy storage system from design, transportation to installation, operation, acceptance and late operation and maintenance, as well as the post-disaster treatment of the energy storage system, battery recycling, etc., there are no very perfect standards and policies to support.

New energy distribution and storage should grasp four key points

First, strengthen the coordinated planning of energy storage and "source-network-load".

The Government should make overall plans for the development of all flexible resources. If the development is rushed and indiscriminate, the result will only be disorderly competition and waste of social resources.

Strengthen the coordinated planning of energy storage and "source - network - load", and promote the coordinated development of "source - network - load - storage". According to the needs of different regions for flexibly adjusting resources, development positioning and characteristics, define the scale and layout of energy storage development, achieve coordinated development of "source - network - load - storage", reasonably determine the scale of energy storage development, facility layout, access scope and construction timing and rolling adjustment, and guide the rational layout and orderly development of energy storage.

Second, accelerate the construction of electricity market.

Should further accelerate the construction of power medium and long-term power market, spot market, auxiliary service market and possible capacity market, so that all kinds of power resources can realize their economic value in market transactions, in order to promote new energy in a wider range, full power market consumption, and ultimately increase the proportion of new energy generation.

It is necessary to establish a marketization mechanism that can fully reflect the value of energy storage, evaluate the scale of energy storage configuration and the value of energy storage services in a reasonable and scientific way, design market rules for the transition stage of marketization and the full marketization stage, and finally form a market-oriented long-term mechanism of "who benefits and who pays". We can start by allowing energy storage system operators to provide diversified services as independent market players, so that they can participate in various services such as peak regulation, frequency modulation, and black start. In addition to widening the peak-valley price difference, the price mechanism of energy storage can be formulated according to the capacity electricity price, electricity price, auxiliary service price, and the impact on power quality as the evaluation standard of electricity price. At the same time of the introduction of the corresponding price policy, it is also necessary to adjust and amend its practice.