Smart Grid: Promoting Advanced Low-carbon Technologies

The theme of the fourth Summer Davos Forum is “ Promoting Sustainable Development ” . The forum’s agenda focuses on how to improve energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, develop green technologies, and rebuild infrastructure. The smart grid has received extensive attention from delegates due to its close ties with the four.

The World Economic Forum and Accenture jointly published a report titled "Accelerating the Success of Smart Grid Pilots," bringing the discussion of smart grids to a climax. According to Ding Minwei, director and general manager of Accenture Greater China Resources Division, the smart grid is a digital self-healing energy system that transfers electricity or gas from generation sources (including distributed renewable energy sources) to the consumer end. Smart grids can optimize the supply of electricity, promote two-way communication between the grids, achieve end-user energy management, minimize power interruptions, and transmit electricity on-demand, resulting in lower costs for power plants and customers, and improved reliability of electricity supply. And carbon emissions are greatly reduced.

The International Energy Agency ( IEA ) estimates that by 2030 , the upgrading of the global power grid infrastructure will require about 13 trillion U.S. dollars. The energy network that is currently operating is originally designed under the background of low cost and abundant energy supply, and can no longer meet the needs of development. The power industry needs to continue to provide energy in the world's increasingly high demand for low carbon, and governments around the world are facing increasing energy security issues. The development of the global energy industry is at an inflection point: clean energy is favored, and the grid needs to be flexible enough to promote the introduction of low-carbon new technologies. At the same time, customers increasingly expect to understand and control their own energy consumption. In this era, smart grids have become an inevitable trend in the development of the industry.

In recent years, the power and utilities sectors have made progress in two major areas. First, the government recognizes the importance of fiscal incentives in starting the transition to a low-carbon economy and the second is the establishment of a smart grid to advance low-carbon technologies and solutions. The central position in China. At present, the number of smart grid pilot projects that are being implemented worldwide has reached nearly 90 , and capital investment has increased rapidly. Governments of various countries began to recognize the central role of smart grids in promoting a series of low-carbon technologies and gradually viewed smart grids as strategic infrastructure investments to promote long-term economic prosperity and help achieve carbon reduction targets.

How to accelerate the construction of smart grid pilot projects? Mr. Max Perlman, global director of Accenture Strategy Consulting, presented his suggestions when interviewed by this reporter. Max Perlman believes that there are two factors that play an important role. One is to establish a strong regulatory and policy framework to support innovation and investment. The second is to promote global standards and help increase market certainty and interactivity.

In addition, Max Perlman believes that the retail strategy is the greatest value in the early sales strategy of the smart grid, and locking the SME sector is a brilliant strategy for electric power and utility companies to gain early support. The SME sector usually has a larger building carbon footprint, higher demand for electricity loads, and greater autonomy in terms of load, providing each customer with a higher potential return. SMEs generally have high energy costs and are therefore more likely to use smart grids to save energy costs. The early adoption of technology by SMEs can create a chain reaction and introduce technology to consumers and businesses.