China will vigorously develop distributed energy

Author：AliceDate：2025-6-27

China will vigorously develop distributed energy

Energy is an indispensable driving force for economic and social development. In my country, environmental issues have received widespread attention, and the requirements for energy conservation and emission reduction for enterprises have become increasingly stringent. At the same time, the adjustment of energy economic structure has also been deepened. How can future energy production and consumption maintain good economy, reliability and sustainability? Experts believe that developing distributed energy close to the user end in accordance with local conditions is a feasible way to achieve more scientific, reasonable and friendly electricity production and use.

What is the current status of the development of distributed energy in my country? What opportunities and challenges have been encountered? How to deal with it? Professor Lin Boqiang, Dean of the China Energy Policy Research Institute of Xiamen University, Deng Youqun, Deputy General Manager of Tianjin Huadian Beichen Distributed Energy Co., Ltd., and Zhang Dongsheng, Secretary-General of the Thermal Power Industry Alliance of the China Energy Conservation Association, shared their views from their respective perspectives.

Developing distributed energy is a reasonable choice for energy transformation

At present, my country's energy structure is still dominated by fossil energy, and the level of clean energy and renewable energy utilization needs to be improved, but the overall energy production and consumption structure is constantly being optimized. Data released at the 2016 National Energy Work Conference showed that the proportion of coal in my country's primary energy production was lower than 70% for the first time that year, and the growth rate of non-fossil energy was close to 12%. In the first half of 2017, the increase in installed capacity of clean energy in my country was significantly higher than that of thermal power, and renewable energy accounted for 70% of the newly installed capacity.

In this regard, Zhang Dongsheng believes that my country's energy structure has entered a strategic adjustment period, and the dual replacement of oil and gas for coal and non-fossil energy for fossil energy is accelerating. In order to improve the level of environmental protection governance, supply-side structural reform in the energy field should be given priority.

At the same time, new energy sources such as solar energy and wind energy have begun to flourish. In Lin Boqiang's view, distributed energy is an important way to solve the problem of new energy utilization. He pointed out that although my country's total installed capacity of wind power and solar energy has reached the first place in the world, the phenomenon of "abandoning wind and light" is still relatively serious.

"Large-scale renewable energy bases are mainly concentrated in the west and northwest, but the local electricity market capacity is limited. To fully utilize the units, it is necessary to use the ultra-high voltage transmission system to transmit electricity to the economically developed eastern regions over long distances. However, the transmission cost of this method is too high. In addition, the natural volatility of renewable energy will also have an impact on the power grid system. Overall, the number of hours of utilization of renewable energy is too low. To break through this bottleneck, the use of distributed energy is a feasible way, and it is also the current development idea that the Chinese government has clearly defined. The biggest advantage of this method is that the power generation facilities are relatively close to the load center, which can avoid large-scale "wind abandonment" and "light abandonment" problems to a certain extent." He explained. Zhang Dongsheng believes that there are three main reasons why my country should vigorously develop distributed energy: First, distributed energy allows energy production to be close to the demand side, minimizes power line losses and heat (cold) power pipe losses, and takes "temperature matching and cascade utilization" as the principle. Energy can be utilized to different degrees according to different thermal temperatures, which can greatly improve energy efficiency; second, both distributed natural gas and distributed photovoltaics are clean and efficient energy, which can significantly reduce the emission of waste gas, wastewater and solid waste; third, the advancement of digital technology, especially the popularization of new technologies such as smart grids, has opened up ideas for the development of distributed energy systems and provided a technical foundation.

Despite its many advantages, the promotion and application of distributed energy in my country is still limited by many factors, and further support from the national policy level is needed. In this regard, Zhang Dongsheng pointed out that due to the high prices of small gas turbines, photovoltaic components and energy storage systems used in the field of distributed energy, the construction cost of distributed energy is still high, and the economic efficiency is relatively poor compared with conventional energy. Without the support of national fiscal policies, too long investment recovery period will affect investment enthusiasm. Therefore, the macro policies of relevant national departments such as technology development encouragement, investment encouragement and tax incentives, power system reform and thermal system reform, as well as the regional development policies of local governments are all indispensable external environments for promoting the application of distributed energy.

The potential growth of the market should be paid attention to.

When it comes to the future of distributed energy, Deng Youqun is optimistic. "There are 7,000 to 8,000 gas distributed projects in the United States, and my country plans to reach 1,000 by 2020. At present, the development speed has not fully caught up, but the potential is huge." He said.

Deng Youqun believes that the government, enterprises, and suppliers should attach importance to the selection and cultivation of users and pay more attention to the demand market.

Zhang Dongsheng pointed out that the development of distributed energy is also a feast for equipment manufacturers. The explosive growth of small and medium-sized gas turbines in the future can be expected. Faced with opportunities, multinational companies like Siemens Energy should strengthen cooperation with Chinese local companies in technology development and equipment production, achieve complementary advantages, cultivate the market, give full play to their own advantages in system integration and control systems, and do a good job in system optimization configuration and efficient use of energy.

The development of distributed energy will bring prosperity to the entire industry chain, including primary energy production industry, power industry, technology supply, equipment production and sales, and user end. This will be a transformation in the energy field and an important historical opportunity.

----Zhang Dongsheng

Secretary General of Thermal Power Industry Alliance of China Energy Conservation Association