Why the Wind Curtailment of Northwest China Remains High

Abstract

Abstract:The total grid-connected installed capacity of wind power in northwest China has grown from 16,260 MW in 2013 to 43,290 MW in 2016; an increase of 88.7% each year. However, this region has suffered from increasingly serious wind curtailment since 2014, and the wind curtailment amount accounts for nearly a half of China's total. The wind curtailment rate of Gansu Province, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in this area has increased and remains high. This paper constructs an analytical model to explore the reasons of the high wind curtailment of these three provinces from the four aspects of the wind power supply capacity, demand, grid transmission capacity, power system flexibility and market mechanism and laws. The results show that the relationship between the wind energy distribution and supply and the local load is incompatible, which is the source causing the high wind curtailment in northwest China. On the one hand, the game between the local government and developers has driven the development of wind power bases. On the other hand, the electricity sector is growing slowly and oversupply of electricity is seen in many areas of China. The wind power grid of northwest China not only faces limit of grid transmission capacity, but also constraint of insufficient flexibility of the electricity system. Presently, China has not set up a market mechanism and subsidy mechanism for the peak load adjustment, thus the thermal power companies lack motivation to voluntarily adjust the peak load. Moreover, the regional segregation and market barriers are also obstacles for the wind power outward transmission.

Policy and market drivers for advancing clean energy

“…The country's rapid buildout of renewable energy outpaced its transmission grid. In addition, China's early policies incentivized clean energy capacity buildout with less consideration to appropriate siting and market structures to maximize clean energy production [43]- [46]. As a result, high clean energy curtailment rates were an issue.…”

How Policies Guide and Promoted Wind Power to Market Transactions in China during the 2010s

“…In 2019, the cumulative installed capacity of Chinese onshore wind power has exceeded 210 GW, but the problem of wind curtailment, especially in the Three North Area is still very serious [49]. How to improve the level of grid-connection and accommodation of wind power and solve the problem of wind curtailment has become a considerable issue for wind power [50]. Therefore, a number of measures are proposed accordingly: (1) accommodation and utilization of wind power by electricity market; (2) preliminary work on wind power construction; (3) plans of local utilization and transmission bases of wind power in the Three North Area; (4) construction of wind power in central eastern and southern China; (5) exploration of wind power consumption market; (6) construction and operation management of wind corporations [51].…”

“…In 2019, the cumulative installed capacity of Chinese onshore wind power has exceeded 210 GW, but the problem of wind curtailment, especially in the Three North Area is still very serious [49]. How to improve the level of grid-connection and accommodation of wind power and solve the problem of wind curtailment has become a considerable issue for wind power [50]. Therefore, a number of measures are proposed accordingly:…”

A generalized approach for selecting solar energy system configurations for a wide range of applications

“…41,42 Alternately, excess intermittent renewable generation can lead to curtailment of supply. 34,35,59 In some cases power purchase agreements (PPAs) include provisions for sharing the risk of curtailment between suppliers and grid operator, 60 so some of the generated power is not paid for. In other cases, negative prices are imposed, 61,62 penalizing either the producers (lowering their income) or the customers, who may have to pay a surcharge, e.g., in the form of high tax rates (over 50% in countries such as Denmark and Germany).…”

“…Energy transmission can also help increase the amount and profitability of energy sold. There are several interrelated parameters affecting energy transmission methods and viability: 35,59,64,65 (i) transmission distance and means; (ii) energy form (e.g., electricity or fuel); (iii) accessibility and cost of the energy transmission; (iv) demand and storage conditions at the endpoints.…”