China's economy moving towards "new" power from electricity consumption
2024-08-25
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Data source: National Energy Administration
Map: Zhang Fangman
Core Reading
The stable operation of the economy is inseparable from the support of electricity, and electricity consumption is often regarded as one of the "barometers" of economic operation. The latest data released by the National Energy Administration shows that in the first seven months of this year, the total electricity consumption of the whole society exceeded 5.59 trillion kWh, an increase of 7.7% year-on-year.
Traditional industries are transforming and upgrading, emerging industries are booming, and new quality productivity is being formed at a faster pace... The growth in electricity consumption in various industries reflects the new momentum and new trends in economic operations.
Flower greenhouses maintain constant temperature and humidity, factory production lines run quickly, data centers are busy with calculations... The smooth operation of the economy is inseparable from the support of electricity, and electricity consumption is often regarded as one of the "barometers" of economic operations.
The latest data released by the National Energy Administration shows that in July, electricity consumption in the high-tech and equipment manufacturing industries increased by 9% year-on-year, electricity consumption in the new energy vehicle manufacturing industry increased by 42.8% year-on-year, and electricity consumption in the wholesale and retail industries, information transmission/software and information technology service industries all increased by double digits. What new driving forces and trends in economic operation are reflected by the growth in electricity consumption in various industries? The reporter conducted an interview.
The industry is developing towards "new" and the economy is transforming towards "green"
In Huangshan, Anhui, a power semiconductor chip manufacturing company's newly built intelligent workshop has reached full production. "Since the second quarter, the industry has maintained a rapid development momentum. Our electricity consumption in the second quarter increased by nearly 20% year-on-year and about 25% month-on-month," said the company's head.
In Shunde District, Foshan, Guangdong, a refrigerator rolls off the production line of Hisense Rongsheng (Guangdong) Refrigerator Co., Ltd. every 5 seconds. Deputy General Manager Zhao Chaoyang said that the company invested more than 6 million yuan to carry out digital transformation of the production line, and the overall production efficiency increased by about 20%. "Since the beginning of this year, export orders have been good, driving electricity consumption to increase by more than 30% year-on-year."
my country's traditional industries are transforming and upgrading, emerging industries are booming, and new quality productivity is accelerating. In July, the added value of equipment manufacturing increased by 7.3%, and the added value of high-tech manufacturing increased by 10%, respectively 0.4 and 1.2 percentage points faster than the previous month, driving the rapid growth of electricity consumption in related industries.
In the first seven months of this year, my country's secondary industry electricity consumption exceeded 3.63 trillion kWh, a year-on-year increase of 6.6%. According to a relevant person in charge of the China Electricity Council, in the first seven months, the electricity consumption of high-tech and equipment manufacturing industries increased by 12.4% year-on-year, which was more than 5 percentage points higher than the average growth rate of the manufacturing industry in the same period, and the manufacturing industry continued its transformation and upgrading trend.
The transformation of economic development towards "green" has driven rapid growth in electricity consumption in new energy vehicles, photovoltaic equipment and component manufacturing industries.
Stamping, welding, painting, assembly... Walking into a new energy vehicle factory in Ningbo, Zhejiang, production is in full swing. In July, the factory produced more than 300 vehicles per day, and the order volume exceeded the original annual production plan. Ningbo is accelerating the construction of the new energy vehicle industry ecosystem, and about 50% of auto parts companies provide supporting services for new energy vehicles. Data from the State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power Company showed that the electricity consumption of the automobile manufacturing industry in Zhejiang increased by 22.7% year-on-year in July, of which the electricity consumption of the new energy vehicle manufacturing industry increased by 111%.
"In recent years, the electricity consumption structure of the manufacturing industry has continued to be optimized, and the growth rate of electricity consumption in the high-tech and equipment manufacturing industries has significantly exceeded that of the four major high-energy-consuming industries." said a relevant person in charge of the China Electricity Council.
With the vigorous implementation of the rural power grid consolidation and upgrading project, the electrification transformation of agricultural production and rural industries has driven the growth of electricity consumption in the primary industry.
In the greenhouse of a flower company in Kunshan, Jiangsu, staff are busy arranging Phalaenopsis orchid seedlings. In order to increase output value, the company expanded the greenhouse last year and added a set of automated electrical equipment. "Phalaenopsis orchids need constant temperature to grow, so we installed a 500 kVA transformer for the company to ensure a stable power supply." Yan Zhigang, director of Zhangpu Power Supply Station of State Grid Kunshan Power Supply Company, said that the company sold more than 600,000 Phalaenopsis orchids in the first half of the year, and electricity consumption increased by more than 200% year-on-year.
In the first seven months of this year, my country's primary industry electricity consumption reached 76.4 billion kWh, a year-on-year increase of 7.5%. Among them, animal husbandry, fishery, and agriculture electricity consumption increased by 9.4%, 8.1%, and 6.1% year-on-year respectively.
New consumption vitality is released, and new infrastructure is accelerated
Since the beginning of this year, my country's service industry has continued to recover and its endogenous driving force has continued to increase. Among them, new consumption growth points such as entertainment tourism and sports events have stimulated consumption potential and driven a rapid increase in electricity consumption in related industries.
In Chongli District, Zhangjiakou, Hebei, major ski resorts are "hot" and activities such as hiking and orienteering have attracted many tourists. "This summer vacation is the one with the highest passenger flow in our summer operation. On weekdays, we receive more than 10,000 tourists per day, and on weekends, we receive 20,000 to 30,000 tourists." Ren Xiaoqiang, manager of the market center of Taiwu Ski Town, introduced. In the first half of this year, the electricity consumption of the cultural and tourism industry in Chongli District increased by 19.2% year-on-year.
Many places have expanded the supply of cultural performances and launched more high-quality performance projects; strengthened the protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage, and developed cultural and creative projects with regional and ethnic characteristics, which has become a new trend leading to the growth of electricity consumption. In Jiangsu, the electricity consumption of cultural intangible cultural heritage scenic spots and museums in the first half of the year increased by 25.1% and 18.3% year-on-year respectively; the electricity consumption of performance venues across the province reached 194 million kWh, an increase of 16.8% year-on-year.
New consumption models are emerging one after another, and new infrastructure applications are developing rapidly. The demand for new infrastructure construction such as charging facilities, big data centers, and 5G is expanding, driving the rapid growth of electricity consumption in these areas.
"As soon as we landed in Guiyang, we rented this electric car and checked in all the way from Guiyang to Qiandongnan, visiting almost 10 scenic spots. It was smooth all the way." College student Cao Yu told reporters. "No worries about charging" in villages and towns, the relevant person in charge of the Guizhou Electric Vehicle Company of the State Grid Corporation of China said that Guizhou has achieved full coverage of charging piles in all towns and villages, helping to alleviate the range anxiety of new energy vehicle owners when traveling in mountainous areas.
As of the end of June this year, the total number of charging piles in China reached 10.244 million, a year-on-year increase of 54%. A total of 27,200 charging piles have been built in highway service areas (including parking areas), basically covering all provinces. In the first half of the year, the charging volume of new energy vehicles in China was about 51.3 billion kWh, a year-on-year increase of 40%.
The expansion of the main transformer took only 28 days from the start of construction to the commissioning. "This year, Huawei Cloud Shangtun Data Center has expanded its business, and the original No. 1 and No. 2 main transformers can no longer meet its power demand. The expansion of the main transformer can improve the stability of power supply." Liao Dongying, general manager of the marketing department of the Guizhou Gui'an Power Supply Bureau of the State Grid Corporation of China, said that in the first seven months of this year, the power consumption of the Gui'an New District data center cluster increased by 43.96%.
Data provided by the China Electricity Council shows that from 2018 to 2023, electricity consumption for Internet data services such as big data processing, cloud storage, and cloud computing based on Internet technology will grow by an average of about 28% per year. In the first half of this year, electricity consumption increased by 33% year-on-year.
Multiple measures to ensure reliable power supply
In recent years, the "winter and summer" peak characteristics of my country's power load have become increasingly obvious. The summer cooling power load accounts for 30% of the country's maximum power load, and in some provinces the proportion even exceeds 40%. The impact of temperature on power consumption is becoming more and more prominent. On July 24, the country's maximum power load reached 1.451 billion kilowatts, a historical high. Compared with last year's maximum load of more than 100 million kilowatts, local power departments have taken multiple measures to ensure reliable power supply.
Cross-provincial power transmission is mutually beneficial. In July, the air conditioning load in Zhejiang Province exceeded 44 million kilowatts during the "peak hour", which is equivalent to more than 40 million household air conditioners starting at the same time. The power department actively strives for external electricity through various measures such as peak shifting, replacement, and mutual assistance. The three major "Western power into Zhejiang" UHV transmission channels from Baihetan to Hangzhou, Zhejiang, Lingzhou, Ningxia to Shaoxing, Zhejiang, and Xiluodu Zuo'an to Jinhua, Zhejiang, cumulatively transmitted more than 13.4 billion kWh of electricity to Zhejiang in July, a year-on-year increase of 38%, effectively alleviating the pressure on electricity consumption. The "West-to-East Power Transmission" power transmission of the Southern Power Grid also hit a record high in July, a year-on-year increase of 29%, of which clean energy power accounted for more than 85%.
Smart operation and maintenance improves efficiency. Remote real-time monitoring of substation equipment voiceprints, intelligent identification and alarm of abnormal conditions... In substations in Liaoning, Anhui and other places, the Sijizhi voiceprint online monitoring device developed by the State Grid Information and Communication Industry Group has been successfully applied. By calling the artificial intelligence voiceprint recognition algorithm, it can accurately identify abnormal conditions such as DC magnetic bias and partial discharge, and improve the safety operation and maintenance level of substations. "In the past, we listened with human ears and made judgments based on experience. Now we can analyze the voiceprint characteristics of substation equipment in real time, which is 30% more accurate than traditional methods." said Qiu Zhen, director of the Power Artificial Intelligence R&D Department of the State Grid Information and Communication Industry Group Research Institute.
What is the electricity supply and demand situation in the second half of the year? According to the analysis of the China Electricity Council, as the macro policy continues to increase and demand continues to recover, various factors will support the steady and rapid growth of electricity consumption in the second half of the year. However, considering the high base factor in the second half of 2023, it is expected that the growth rate of electricity consumption in the second half of this year will stabilize at around 5%, and the annual growth rate will show a "high first and stable later" trend.
(Source: People's Daily Online)
