According to a research report by Navigant Research, in 2015, the global new distributed installed capacity was approximately 136GW. The report pointed out that with the continuous improvement of power infrastructure and the rapid growth of power demand, it is estimated that by 2024, the global installed capacity of distributed energy will exceed 530GW. With the strong support of governments in various countries for distributed power generation and the continuous decline in the cost of distributed power generation, the development of distributed power generation will surely usher in another round of peaks in the next ten years.
On the whole, distributed power generation has the following three development trends:
(1) Plug and play of distributed power supply. Through the improvement of the distributed power generation grid-connected interface and its control technology, the protection and control measures of distributed power generation and the distribution system containing distributed power generation are studied, and the plug and play of distributed power generation is realized.
(2) Distributed power generation is connected to the power distribution system in the form of a microgrid. Although distributed power generation has many advantages, it also has some problems such as high cost of single-machine access and difficulty in control. In addition, distributed power is an uncontrollable factor relative to large power grids. Therefore, large systems often adopt restricted methods to deal with distributed power in order to reduce its impact on the large power grid. Microgrid and distributed power supply series standards IEEE1547 stipulates the grid access standard of distributed power generation: when the power system fails, the distributed power supply must immediately exit operation. This greatly limits the full play of distributed energy efficiency. In order to coordinate the contradiction between the large power grid and distributed power generation, fully tap the value and benefits that distributed power generation brings to the power grid and users. At the beginning of this century, scholars put forward the concept of microgrid. A microgrid is actually a small power grid, and distributed power generation is the basis of the microgrid. The microgrid connects distributed power sources with the distribution network and acts as a “bridge” to solve the problem of the difficulty in connecting distributed energy to the grid. Connecting distributed power sources to large power grids in the form of microgrids for grid-connected operation and supporting each other with large power grids is an effective way to bring out the benefits of distributed power generation systems.
(3) Combination of distributed power generation and smart grid. New energy and distributed power generation are an important part of building a global energy Internet. Complying with the general trend of global resources and environmental constraints is not just to change the energy structure, but a major change in social production methods and lifestyles, and a fundamental breakthrough in energy utilization. For the power grid, it is not only necessary to repair and upgrade traditional power generation methods to adapt to the above changes, but also to make major changes to the operation of the power system. The smart grid is the main technical support and network platform to realize this change. It will work with distributed power generation, new energy and superconductivity technologies to jointly build a new power system in the future. Distributed power generation is supplemented and coordinated with the power supply of the large grid, and the comprehensive utilization of existing resources and equipment can not only improve the efficiency of the power system, but also provide users with more common, more efficient, and higher-quality power services, and better promote economic and social development.
Distributed power generation technology is an important supplement to the centralized power supply system and will become an important development direction for China’s future energy supply. With the gradual maturity and improvement of distributed power generation technology and the continuous decline of distributed power generation costs, the application market of distributed power generation systems will also rapidly expand, and it will become the main direction of the development of the power industry in the 21st century. It can be expected that the distributed power generation system will bring users a more reliable, more environmentally friendly, and more economical new power system in addition to the centralized power supply system.
If you are interested, please read the previous article to understand the research status of distributed power generation in China.