This newspaper (chinatimesnet.CN) reporters Li Jiajia and Li Beibei report from Beijing.
Under the trend of "dual carbon", China's photovoltaic market has maintained a rapid growth trend. A few days ago, data released by the National Energy Administration showed that as of the end of November 2023, the cumulative installed power generation capacity in the country was about 28500 million kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 136%。Among them, the installed capacity of solar power generation is about 5600 million kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 499%, the fastest growth rate; The installed capacity of wind power is about 4100 million kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 176%。
However, while the photovoltaic industry is booming and contributing to global low-carbon development, it is also facing many problems such as limited land and consumption. In this context, photovoltaic practitioners have set their sights on the broader sea.
Jin Baofang, chairman of JA Solar, told the China Times, "The global trend of 'carbon neutrality' is inevitable. We firmly believe that photovoltaic power generation is the main force in the green transformation of the future energy structure. After the baptism of the market, the photovoltaic industry market will return to rational and healthy development, and the spring of a new round of development will soon come. ”
Multiple factors promote photovoltaic "going to the sea".
Previously, Wang Bohua, honorary chairman of the China Photovoltaic Industry Association, said that the domestic photovoltaic power generation construction mainly has problems such as the limited demand for photovoltaic land, the increase in the distribution and storage cost of photovoltaic power plants, the adjustment of industrial and commercial electricity prices in some provinces during peak and valley periods for the development of the industry, and the serious phenomenon of mandatory support. At the same time, it is also facing the difficulties and impacts brought about by overseas barriers and supporting the development of local enterprises.
Onshore photovoltaic does have certain limitations", Qi Haishen, executive vice president of Jinchen Co., Ltd., told reporters, "Taking desert areas as an example, although a large number of photovoltaic panels can be laid, there are problems such as local consumption and transmission of electricity, and it is necessary to rely on the construction of UHV and the development of the local economy to solve the instability, indirectness and synergy of its power generation." ”
However, unlike onshore photovoltaics, the development of marine photovoltaics has many advantages such as a wide area of use and policy support, and there is basically no problem of consumption.
The reporter learned that, first of all, compared with the limited land area, China's mainland coastline is about 180,000 kilometers, the installed scale of offshore photovoltaic capacity can reach more than 100 gigawatts, and the total length of the global coastline is more than 1 million kilometers, if it is used to develop photovoltaics, it is foreseeable that its market is broad and the potential is huge. The industry believes that this can not only solve the problem of limited land, but also avoid the environmental impact caused by over-development of land.
Secondly, offshore PV does not have the same absorption problem as onshore PV, it tends to be closer to the power load center in coastal areas, which makes it easier to connect electricity to the grid and consume, reducing the loss and cost of long-distance transmission.
Qi Haishen told reporters: "Offshore power generation is mainly located in the southeast coastal areas, these areas have developed economies, large electricity consumption, and longer electricity consumption time, which can effectively balance and make up for the volatility and timeliness of new energy power generation, and the future development prospects of offshore photovoltaic are very good." ”
Wu Mudan, technical director of the General Institute of Hydropower and Water Conservancy Planning and Design, also said that there is no problem with the consumption of offshore photovoltaics, and the coastal provinces are the most economically developed and active places in China.
The reporter noted that at present, Shandong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Fujian and other provinces have introduced relevant policies to support the development of offshore photovoltaics.
In addition, industry analysts believe that the power generation benefits of offshore photovoltaics are more obvious, and the current investment in offshore photovoltaics has achieved considerable returns.
First-tier manufacturers continue to increase their investment in offshore photovoltaics
The reporter learned that recently, first-line photovoltaic manufacturers have increased their weight in the field of offshore photovoltaic and released new photovoltaic products one after another.
Not long ago, Aiko Co., Ltd., a photovoltaic company that bet on the BC battery technology route, created a "Sirius" product for the tidal flat water surface scene.
On January 6, JA Solar, a leading domestic photovoltaic company, launched DeepBlue 4 for different offshore photovoltaic application scenarios at its new product launch conference0 Pro Blue series and Bright Blue series two offshore photovoltaic n-type product solutions. Among them, the blue series is suitable for tidal flat sites with a water depth of less than 10 meters or less than 500 meters from the coast, stable geology and small water level changes, and adopts pile foundation installation method; The Bright Blue series is suitable for offshore areas with a water depth of more than 10 meters, and adopts a floating installation method. On the basis of Azure, the Bright Blue series is more low-carbon, lightweight and more reliable.
Peng Peng, Secretary-General of the China New Energy Power Investment and Financing Alliance, told reporters that with the decline in module costs, many companies are full of hope for the development of offshore photovoltaics.
Referring to the marine environment, the reporter learned that compared with the land, the marine environment is complex and changeable, and the safety of the photovoltaic power generation system is facing severe challenges, mainly including high salt spray, high load, high ultraviolet, high humidity and heat, as well as the comprehensive effect of electrical insulation and hot spots on photovoltaic modules, which may lead to a decrease in power generation efficiency and a shortening of product life. As a result, components need to be more reliable and weather-resistant in harsh marine environments.
According to Zhang Jun, head of JA Solar's product technology department, the power of the two series of modules released by JA Solar can reach up to 635W and the module efficiency can reach up to 228%, inheriting JA Solar's flagship N-type module DeepBlue 4In addition to the characteristics of "high power, high efficiency, high power generation and high reliability", 0 Pro also has the advantages of "anti-salt spray, anti-ultraviolet, anti-humidity and heat, and anti-heat spots", which can effectively guarantee the income of investing in offshore photovoltaic power plants.
In addition, it has been revealed that JA Solar's offshore photovoltaic N-type products have successfully passed rigorous tests such as IEC standards, composite salt spray tests and wind tunnel tests. At present, the Bright Blue series modules have participated in the country's first offshore floating photovoltaic demonstration base jointly established by CIMC and the National Photovoltaic Quality Inspection Center in Yantai, Shandong.
It is worth mentioning that vigorously developing offshore photovoltaics is not all smooth sailing, and there will be many challenges.
Wu Mudan mentioned that the biggest bottleneck of offshore PV is still a lot of pressure to reduce costs and increase efficiency, which is not from the cost of modules, but to a greater extent because of its poor engineering construction conditions and high engineering construction costs. In addition, there are problems such as difficult design, construction, operation and maintenance, and long development and construction processes.
Editor-in-charge: Li Future Editor-in-chief: Zhang Yuning.