Smart Grid Successfully Applied at Shanghai World Expo

Where does the electricity from the Shanghai World Expo come from? It comes from the solar cell "sunflower" on the roof of the China Pavilion. It also comes from the large windmills along the East China Sea Bridge. Of course, it is also inseparable from traditional thermal power plants. Faced with a large number of sources and frequent changes in current, how can the Expo site be able to operate freely and users will not feel any abnormalities?

Yesterday, at the Public Participation Hall “Meeting with the Hall of Fame – Seeing the World Expo with Academicians” lecture, Zhou Xiaoxin, an expert of the Chinese electric power system and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, revealed to the public a small secret: It depends on the smart grid! As the first comprehensive demonstration project of smart grid in China, the smart grid system applied at the Shanghai World Expo has passed the inspection and acceptance of experts and has achieved excellent results.

The biggest feature of smart grids is "smart". First of all, it has a powerful capacity for “flooding and flood prevention”. When electricity supply exceeds demand, excess electricity is stored in energy storage power stations and electric vehicles connected to the grid. When electricity peaks arrive, the electricity is taken out again. . Regardless of whether it is from “sunflower” or large windmills, these electric powers will pass through the testing and regulation of the power quality monitoring and control points and energy storage stations in the Expo Site, and then slowly lead to various venues.

“It is different from a traditional power grid that can only transmit electricity in one direction,” Academician Zhou Xiaoxin said. The smart grid can “supply electricity” while sending electricity. “Every household can sell the electricity generated by its own solar battery to the grid—the electricity bill will be reduced.” Of course, this is not the only benefit. Smart grid "smart meter" will automatically prompt the price, reminding users to use electricity during the cheaper time; smart grid "optical + cable" cabling mode, but also make the network and power applications further integration, so that more home appliances intelligence.

For China, the smart grid must also be very "strong." Zhou Xiaoxin explained that China’s hydropower resources are concentrated in the southwestern part of the country, and solar energy resources are concentrated in the Gobi and deserts of the northwestern region, while large consumers of electricity are concentrated in the eastern region. Therefore, the long-distance transportation of “green power” in the future cannot be avoided. “China has a vast territory, varied terrain, and frequent extreme weather in recent years, which imposes higher requirements on the reliability and safety of smart grids.” Zhou Xiaoxin said that the smart grid in the Expo site has withstood the high temperature and thunderstorms. The test is a good start. He predicted that by 2020, under the strong smart grid scenario, the loss of power outages in the entire society could be reduced by 18.95 billion yuan.

The power industry has always been a major emitter of carbon dioxide. Of the more than 3 billion tons of coal consumed in China each year, half are used to generate electricity. A 2010 report from the US Department of Energy pointed out that by 2030, the smart grid will achieve energy conservation and alternative fossil energy consumption of 1.07 trillion kWh, and direct emission reduction of carbon dioxide will be about 359 million tons, and the electricity industry will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 12%. Zhou Xiaoxin hopes that the application of smart grids will enable more clean energy to run smoothly in China's power grid.