By zhanqun1 
Since 2010, the new energy sector in China has developed like a rocket: the new energy capacity has reached 63,741 MW, with a compound annual growth rate as high as 32.1% by 2021. This means that in more than 11 years, the installed capacity of new energy increases by more than 30% almost every year. By the end of 2021, the ratio of new energy installed capacity in the country’s total installed capacity has also continued to increase and reached 26.7%. According to the “China New Energy Power Generation Analysis Report 2021”, this proportion is expected to further increase to 41% by 2030, reflecting the increasing importance of new energy in China’s energy structure.
Compared with traditional conventional power sources, new energy generation has its particularity: it usually consists of a large number of single-unit smaller capacity devices that are widely distributed and greatly affected by natural conditions. For example, the new energy resources, such as wind and solar energy-their power generation will fluctuate with seasonal changes, weather conditions, and other factors, showing obvious intermittent and random characteristics. Thereby, it results in an interesting phenomenon: the peak of new energy generation often does not match the peak of electricity demand. Such as, the wind power is strong at night, and at that time, the demand for electricity is relatively lower. The photovoltaic power generation is peaking at noon, but the real demand of the power system may not be to this point, while the highest is in the evening after the sunset when the photovoltaic system stops working, at this time it is the evening peak of household electricity consumption.
In order to solve these problems, new energy storage technology came into being. Such a technology will be like some kind of huge “energy bank,” which would save excess electricity in case the grid load was low and released at demand peaks, hence helping to smoothen out differences in supply and demand and reduce waste from oversupplies. This is because, through this approach, the use of renewable energy sources will be increased, while the stability and flexibility of the whole power system can be further improved to guarantee continuous and stable power supply even in bad weather conditions.
In short, while new energy generation indeed has a few tricky points, with advanced energy storage solutions, we can handle and optimize energy consumption much better to make China move forward to a cleaner and more efficient energy future.
Curtailment rate? Light rejection rate?
Wind abandonment rate and light abandonment rate mainly refer to the phenomenon that a certain proportion of wind and solar energy cannot be converted into electricity and used due to the insufficient power consumption capacity in wind and solar energy-rich regions of China.
Wind Curtailment Rate: The ratio between the difference in actual power generated by a wind farm and the theoretically generated power over the same period. A high value of curtailment rate means large amount of the wind resource is not utilised effectively-usually because of inability of grid to take all the wind generation.
Solar Curtailment Rate: like the wind curtailment rate, it refers to the ratio of a solar plant’s actual power generation to its maximum capacity. Due to fluctuating meteorological conditions, power network instability, or regional power surplus, among other factors, some photovoltaic power could not be transmitted to the grid in time and thus caused light abandonment.
Average Abandonment Rate of Wind and Light Abandonment Rate in China, 2016-2021（As shown above）
2016: In some areas, the abandonment rate was as high as over 20%. This is mainly because, up until now, the distribution of wind power is concentrated in the northwest, northeast, and other areas with relatively low power demand. The dispatch capacity of the power grid in these areas is limited, resulting in poor absorption.
2017: Curtailment rates decreased, especially with increased investment in grid infrastructure and increased consumption capacity of wind power.
2018-2021: The rate of curtailment continued to decline. A number of policies have been issued by the state, such as optimizing the layout of wind power, strengthening the ability of inter-provincial power dispatching, which has effectively alleviated the wind curation phenomenon. In 2021, the abandonment rate will fall below 10%.
Light abandonment rate: Compared to the abandonment rate of wind in general, its value is lower. However, the light abandonment rate also attained a high level, such as over 10% in some areas in 2016, especially in the northwest and some areas with excessive new energy power generation. However, with the constant improvement in the scale of photovoltaic power generation and increase in grid absorption capacity, the rate of abandoning light has fallen year after year.
From the point of view of general development in recent years, the absorption ability of wind power generation and photovoltaic power generation has increased dramatically; meanwhile, abandoned wind and abandoned light are also greatly reduced. In some certain regions, abandoned wind and abandoned light still occur, showing some existing problems. The constant technological upgrading and iteration behind the continuous decline in the abandonment rate of wind and light, the infrastructure equipment upgrading, and energy builders support each other. As The Times has progressed, so does the utilization rate of wind power and electricity in China continue to improve. Clean energy will bring us a greener and healthier life in the future.
Average wind abandonment rate and light abandonment rate in China from 2016 to 2021