"In terms of the total amount, the 'Three North' area is an important area for wind power development in China in the future. However, in the short term, the construction focus should be shifted to the central and eastern regions when the wind curtailment and power restriction in the 'Three North' area have not eased." Gao Hu, director of the Energy Economy and Development Strategy Research Center of the Energy Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at the 2017 Low Wind Speed Frontier Technology and Application Innovation Forum held recently.

Many representatives of enterprises attending the meeting said that China's central and eastern and southern regions are dominated by low wind speed, and the development of low wind speed wind power without international precedent is both an opportunity and a challenge for China's wind power industry.

Avoid industry fluctuations and trade space for time

Li Qionghui, director of the New Energy Research Institute of the State Grid Energy Research Institute, said that the rapid development of wind power during the "Twelfth Five Year Plan" period also faced many problems, among which the problem of wind abandonment and subsidy implementation was the most serious.

In her view, the "13th Five Year Plan" period is a period of adjustment for wind power; On the other hand, through technological progress, it is promoted in low wind speed areas in the east and south of China.

"The development of low wind speed wind power can be seen as the exchange of space for time, to avoid the ups and downs of the industry after resource oriented development, and to achieve the sustainable development of the wind power industry." Zhang Wenzhong, deputy chief engineer of Huadian Fuxin New Energy Co., Ltd.

Gao Hu also said that when there are temporary difficulties in the development of the "Three North" region, the development of low wind speed in the central and southern regions has become very critical. Only in this way can we ensure that the annual new wind power installed capacity is stable at a reasonable level and avoid causing damage to the industry due to big ups and downs.

According to the plan, the cumulative installed capacity of wind power will reach 210 million kilowatts by the end of the 13th Five Year Plan. Li Qionghui revealed that the total number of approved wind power projects across the country has actually exceeded 210 million kilowatts, including the number of approved projects obtained by several wind abandoned provinces that actually exceeded the provincial targets in the wind power planning of the National Energy Administration.

In fact, the development of low wind speed wind power in the east and south is exactly the strategic transfer that the wind power industry has to make under the circumstances of abandoning wind power and limiting power in the "Three North" region.

"To solve the problem of wind power consumption, on the one hand, it is necessary to adjust and optimize the layout to switch to low wind speed decentralized wind power with good consumption conditions; on the other hand, it is necessary to slow down the pace of new projects in wind abandoned areas." Li Qionghui said.

Low wind speed faces various challenges

From the perspective of the industry, China's low wind speed wind power development has not only created a precedent in the world, but also led the global technological innovation in the field of low wind speed. However, they also face challenges.

Zhang Wenzhong said that since 2014 and 2015, the development of low wind speed wind power in China has significantly accelerated, and it is expected that the golden age of low wind speed development will last until around 2020.

The technical director of CRRC Zhuzhou Research Institute Wind Power Business Department said that most of the development of low wind speed wind resource areas in the south is based on hilly terrain and complex terrain, which requires higher requirements for micro site selection and wind farm investment and construction mode.

"For a low wind speed wind farm, it needs 1800-2000 full power equivalent hours to be economical, which means that unit selection and micro location are very important." The technical director said, "In the low wind speed wind farm, the fan blades are getting longer and longer, so more attention must be paid to the safety and reliability of the unit."

"Low wind speed wind power development and complex terrain are twin brothers. Low wind speed wind farms do face many challenges to achieve profitability." Zhang Wenzhong said.

Wang Jiyuan, director of the Institute of Resources, Technology and Economy of Datang New Energy Test and Research Institute, said that most of the low wind speed wind farms are wind farms with complex terrain, which means that the cost is uncontrollable. After development, the cost will be found to be higher than expected. In addition, due to the large topographic relief, the site selection will be very difficult.

Zhang Wenzhong said that low wind speed means lower energy density. It is very difficult to convert it into electric energy. "On the one hand, it requires continuous breakthroughs in technology; on the other hand, it is necessary to attach importance to the construction of the industrial chain to form a synergistic effect in the industry."

Zhang Wenzhong also said that wind energy resources and conditions in low wind speed areas are atypical, with multiple characteristics and diverse environments, which have special requirements for fan performance. To improve the adaptability of fans to local resource conditions, customized production of fans is required, which directly leads to increased costs. "How to provide customized fans with good adaptability without increasing costs requires industry thinking."

In addition, some participants believed that in the development of low wind speed, the technical scheme of high tower and long blade is often used. What kind of impact this will have on the stability and life of the unit still needs to be verified.

Test the refinement of the whole process

So, how to deal with the challenges brought by low wind speed wind power development?

Wang Jiyuan said that, first, accurate wind measurement should be achieved; Second, accurate evaluation of power generation; The third is to achieve fine design of wind farm.

Zhang Wenzhong said that in order to make a good assessment of wind resources and achieve a more accurate location and model layout, it is necessary to ensure that enough wind measuring towers are erected and the wind measuring time is appropriately extended. In addition, plus lidar wind measurement, good wind speed evaluation software. Strive for perfection in all aspects to ensure a more thorough grasp of wind resources.

"In a low wind speed wind farm, if the calculation accuracy of power generation is not accurate enough, the wind farm will not have the ability to resist risks. There is no shortcut. Only through a large number of post assessment analysis characteristics and accumulated experience through a large number of post assessment can the accurate assessment be done well." Wang Jiyuan said.

At present, CGN wind power centralized control system has realized access to more than 6000 wind turbines, which has greatly reduced operating costs. Zhou Zhigang, Deputy General Manager of the Operation and Maintenance Business Department of CGN New Energy Holding Co., Ltd., said that through the centralized operation and maintenance and EB indicator system, the power generation capacity, equipment health and management capacity of the wind farm can be monitored and reflected in real time, and the control of production indicators can be fully realized.

According to Xu Lushi, director of the Resource Planning Office of the New Energy Engineering Company of PowerChina Beijing Survey, Design and Research Institute, the whole process of low wind speed wind power development, from front-end wind measurement to equipment selection to back-end operation and maintenance, must be more refined than traditional wind power development to ensure the final project income.

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