In the long-awaited, the on-grid tariff of offshore wind power has begun to come out.
A few days ago, the National Development and Reform Commission issued the "Notice on the On-grid Tariff Policy for Offshore Wind Power". The notice of just a few hundred words was like a hurricane, creating a great sensation in the industry. In the "Notice", it is stipulated that "the on-grid electricity price of offshore wind power projects put into operation before 2017 (excluding 2017) is 0.85 yuan per kilowatt-hour (tax included, the same below), and the on-grid electricity price of intertidal wind power projects is per kilowatt hour. 0.75 yuan per kilowatt hour.”
The energy represented by coal and oil has been criticized by people of insight for its non-renewable and polluting environment. Renewable energy sources such as wind energy and solar energy are clean and pollution-free that traditional energy sources do not have. As people seek benefits from the ocean, the development of the ocean makes offshore wind power more and more people's attention.
So, under this background, what is the current status of my country's offshore wind power industry? What opportunities will the on-grid tariff of offshore wind power bring to the wind power industry? For the wind energy industry, how should it be better developed with the help of this policy?
The current installed capacity is far from the planned target
Regarding the offshore wind power industry, there are two sets of seemingly "contradictory" data.
According to the "2014 China Wind Power Development Report", by the end of 2013, my country's offshore wind power production was about 390,000 kilowatts, ranking among the top five in the world. According to the statistics of China Wind Energy Association, by the end of 2013, the installed capacity of offshore wind power in my country was 428,600 kilowatts, accounting for only about 0.5% of the total installed capacity of wind power in the country.
To a certain extent, these two sets of data reflect some of the conditions of my country's offshore wind power industry.
In recent years, the rapid development of the wind power industry, including offshore wind power, is closely related to the vigorous support of relevant policies. In addition to the "Renewable Energy Law", there are also "Twelfth Five-Year Plan for Wind Power Technology Development", "Twelfth Five-Year Plan for National Strategic Emerging Industry Development", "Twelfth Five-Year Plan for Renewable Energy Development", etc. Several regulations have been issued.
In this notice specifically for the on-grid tariff policy for offshore wind power, in addition to clearly specifying the on-grid tariff for non-tendered offshore wind power projects, it also encourages "determining the development owners and on-grid tariffs of offshore wind power projects through market competition such as franchise bidding."
According to Meng Xiangan, vice chairman of the China Renewable Energy Society, my country's offshore wind power is basically in the demonstration stage, the scale is small, and the industrial chain is not yet perfect. The development time of offshore wind power equipment is not long, and the quality needs to be improved. The construction of offshore wind power projects and the manufacturing facilities of submarine cables all require the accumulation and improvement of experience.
Meng Xiangan believes that offshore wind power involves multiple government departments such as marine shipping, marine aquaculture, and national defense construction, and coordination and management with each other lack the overall planning and planning of authoritative departments. "In 2013, my country's offshore wind power was built at 390,000 kilowatts, which is far from the 5 million kilowatt target of the 12th Five-Year Plan."
Reasonable prices will become the "first push" for the industry to take off
In an interview with the media, Qin Haiyan, secretary-general of the China Wind Energy Association, believed that determining the benchmark electricity price is the basic work for developing offshore wind power, "so that developers can determine their investment behavior based on the benchmark electricity price." Some industry insiders predict optimistically that after the release of offshore wind power pricing standards, domestic offshore wind power installations will enter a period of rapid growth.
"After a period of rapid growth before 2010, the development of my country's wind power industry has entered a stage of steady growth. The pace and rhythm of wind power development and wind power manufacturing enterprises have a certain degree of control, which is more rational." National Development and Reform Commission Energy Research Shi Jingli, a researcher at the Institute, said this.
"We did an economic analysis of offshore wind power last year. Comparing our research results, I think this price level is more appropriate. From the perspective of a single offshore wind power project, the economics are very different, and there are multiple influencing factors, such as Differences in offshore distance, water depth, seabed conditions and offshore wind energy resources.” Shi Jingli believes that from the perspective of project development, whether it is onshore wind power or offshore wind power, the market is open, and all kinds of development companies can enjoy The policy is the same. Bidding can be used as a means of price discovery, in line with the principles of market competition.
Shi Jingli further said that at present, the onshore wind power market is mature, with clear wind resources, equipment costs, operating costs and prices, and is in a stage of steady development. Offshore wind power is another emerging field of renewable energy. By formulating a reasonable electricity price policy, a number of projects can be launched, thereby driving the start and growth of the offshore wind power market and the development of large-scale offshore wind turbine manufacturing. The development of offshore wind power may be more complex than onshore wind power, and there are more influencing factors, so only through the start of the project can problems be found and solved.
Of course, based on actual costs and benefits, many wind energy companies hope that the on-grid price of offshore wind power will be higher. Meng Xiangan said that the investment per kilowatt of European onshore wind power is about 1,000 euros, while the offshore wind power is 2,000 to 3,000 euros. The grid-connected electricity price of offshore wind power in Germany, Denmark, the United Kingdom and other countries ranges from 1.1 to 1.6 yuan per kWh.
From 2007 to 2012, the investment per kilowatt of offshore wind power in my country was between 15,600 and 26,600 yuan, while the investment per kilowatt of onshore wind power was between 8,000 and 10,000 yuan. The on-grid electricity price of my country's onshore wind power is 0.51 to 0.61 yuan. "Considering that the number of hours of offshore wind power generation is higher than that of onshore wind power, the on-grid electricity price of my country's offshore wind power should be higher than 1 yuan per kilowatt-hour." Meng Xiangan suggested.
Three steps to form a scale to achieve marketization and commercialization
Today, my country is facing enormous pressure to save energy and reduce emissions. It is foreseeable that renewable energy, including wind energy, will flourish. In the future, offshore wind power will undoubtedly have unlimited opportunities.
"According to the experience of developing renewable energy, offshore wind power can be divided into three steps in the future." Meng Xiangan pointed out that the first step is to form a scale, which is also the stage of laying the foundation. The quality of offshore wind power infrastructure must pass the test, relevant policies must be implemented, and the management system must be straightened out. With the scale, we can see its prospects, gain some experience, and preliminarily prove that it can be further developed, and there is a basis for market development. At present, my country's offshore wind power is only in its infancy, and efforts should be made towards the formation of large-scale. In the second step, we promote the formation of a market through policy. The last is the process of commercialization.
Meng Xiangan believes that relevant policies should create a relaxed atmosphere for offshore wind power, and enable offshore wind power to form a certain scale. After these foundations are established, a competition mechanism can be introduced to gradually move forward. "Of course, it will ultimately be tested according to the market. "
Profitable, the industry is expected to start on a large scale this year
"Offshore wind power is a high-tech industry. If an enterprise wants to enter offshore wind power, it must have a reliable technical foundation and good technical support. If the basic technology is not available, it should not blindly follow the trend. We need to be more rational and reduce as much as possible. Waste and loss." Meng Xiangan said that the quality requirements of the offshore wind power market are higher than those of the onshore wind power market, and the technical requirements of offshore wind power are higher, and maintenance is relatively difficult.
In Shi Jingli's view, my country's wind power development situation is good. According to statistics from the China Electricity Council, the current grid-connected installed capacity exceeds 75 million kilowatts, and in 2013, the on-grid electricity exceeded 140 billion kilowatt-hours, ranking first in the world in both the wind power market and the manufacturing industry. According to the planning target, the cumulative installed capacity of wind power will reach 100 million kilowatts in 2015 and 200 million kilowatts in 2020. Judging from the current project reserve, it is basically no problem to achieve and exceed 100 million kilowatts of installed capacity in 2015.
Shi Jingli believes that offshore wind power is one of the focuses of recent development. At present, the cumulative installed capacity of offshore wind power is nearly 400,000 kilowatts, mainly distributed in Jiangsu, Shanghai and Zhejiang. With the introduction of the electricity price policy and the continuous advancement of project coordination and management, it is expected that offshore wind power will be launched on a large scale in 2014.
"Under the unified electricity price policy for offshore wind power across the country, some projects with better wind resources and construction conditions are economical, and development companies can make profits at such a price," said Shi Jingli.