 Cooperative advocates 'smart grid'
By ML Chan (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-11-10 07:39
Two-thirds of all energy is lost between its creation and use. The central nervous system of this leaky infrastructure is our power grid. To sustain its tremendous economic growth, China needs to rethink its approach to its electric power industry. The "smart grid" is a relatively new concept that brings intelligent communications to every aspect of the grid, allowing for more efficient energy use and stability in power supply. Smart grid innovation touches everything from electricity transmission and distribution to consumer energy use. United States utility leaders such as Duke Energy and Xcel are starting to pave the way with pilot implementations regionally. John Trew of Current Group says that several US states are proposing or have already approved legislation to mandate enterprise smart grid solutions. The Joint US-China Cooperation for Clean Energy (JUCCCE) launched today the JUCCCE China Smart Grid Cooperative to bring together smart grid experts across the world to work closely with China's two utilities and key influencers to jointly define Smart Grid in a way that makes sense in China. The first JUCCCE Cooperative meeting on November 12 will bring to Beijing top executives from Duke Energy, Gridpoint, Optimal Technology, Current Group, Augmentum, Quanta Technology, IBM, KEMA, the US President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, Nexant, McKinsey, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Accenture, and Ecological Investments to meet with stakeholders at China Electric Power Research Institute of State Grid, China Southern Power Grid, Investment Association Committee of the NDRC among others. Is China ready to take the leap? In fact, China already has an ambitious "one household, one meter" goal and proven their willingness to commit large budgets on innovation with the State Grid's Ultra High Voltage pilots. The question is not why, but when, China will implement Smart Grid to help reach their ambitious energy policy goals. The JUCCCE Cooperative brings stakeholders across the energy supply chain together to answer how Smart Grid rollout in China will be different, and what resources are there to help accelerate the implementation. Hu Xuehao of the China Electric Power Research Institute points out many differences in incentives between China and the West. In Western countries, the emphasis is on the distribution grid, while in China, the current emphasis is on the transmission grid. In the US, Europe and Japan, solar panels are installed on rooftops, while in China solar farms will mainly be installed in desert areas. The current financial crisis has companies scrambling to stay afloat. For US companies strong in Smart Grid technology and services, China represents one of the largest revenue opportunities in the world. International vendors can expect to benefit greatly if China's utilities put Smart Grid on their agenda. In 2007, China spent $35 billion on new power grid infrastructure, of which $18 billion was spent on overseas manufacturers. Research in China estimates that in the next 10 years, China's power industry will have an average annual growth rate of 6.6 percent to 7.0 percent. The State Grid, one of two utilities in China, controls over 88 percent of the countries land mass and is the largest utility in the world, making for a short sales cycle. "The scale at which China is deploying means that China can single-handedly help set the worldwide smart grid communications standard early on", according to Jim Rogers, Chairman of Duke Energy and JUCCCE Honorary Committee member. www.juccce.com The author is China executive director of JUCCCE China Smart Grid Cooperative.
(China Daily 11/10/2008 page9) |
