The Energy Administration issued 113 industry standards to guide investment

On the 10th of the National Energy Administration's official website, 113 energy industry standards such as the “Technical Code for Design of Large-Scale Wind Farm Grid Connections” were issued and will be implemented on November 1, 2011. Industry experts pointed out that the competent authorities chose to centralize the release of a large number of industry standards at this time, which is to guide the current large amount of energy investment. Some experts also believe that there are flaws in the standard-setting model and question the effectiveness of guiding investment.

The list of industry standards published this time includes the Technical Specifications for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Vehicle Filling Stations, Quality Assurance Requirements for Site Selection of Nuclear Power Plants, Technical Specifications for Grid Design of Large-scale Wind Farms, and Thermal Power Plants. The technical guidelines for flue gas denitrification, and the Operational Specifications for Coal Seam Gas Gathering, Transportation, and Treatment have been covered by standards and regulations that are of concern to the industry and even the community.

Zhou Dadi, former director of the National Energy Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission, said in an interview that safety standards are of primary importance in the formulation of energy industry standards, followed by quality standards, technology access standards, and relationships among various sectors within the industry. specification.

Zhou Dadi said that China’s current energy demand continues its rapid growth, which has led to overheating in some energy sectors. If there is a big change in energy demand in these areas in the future, the large amount of investment inflows in the previous period will undoubtedly fall into the “miscalculation”. Especially in the coal and power industries, if the trend of investment overheating is continued, there will be a possibility of overcapacity. Therefore he proposed to control the current investment scale of coal and electricity.

However, not all investments in the energy sector have been overheated. Zhou Dadi believes that the current investment scale in nuclear power and hydropower needs to increase.

At the same time, he pointed out that the regulation of the relationship between various sectors within the industry and the relationship between the energy industry and public services is also an important aspect of guiding investment. The above-mentioned oil and natural gas standards, power standards, and technical specifications for wind power grid connection all rely on the formation of industry access to achieve these goals.

“For example, although the state has policies to encourage the development of wind power, there must be standards for how wind power is connected to the grid, otherwise it will be difficult to distinguish between the responsibility of wind farms and the power grid,” Zhou said.

There are also industry experts who believe that the effect of guiding investment by industry standards is far less direct and powerful than that of the National Development and Reform Commission.

An expert from the Energy Research Institute, one of the five major power generation groups, told the newspaper that the current formulation of China’s energy industry standards is “self-determined”, that is, the National Development and Reform Commission takes the lead in industry associations and convenes leading companies in the industry to formulate industry standards. This standard, developed by insiders, has limited guidance for investment, and it is far less than the NDRC's measures such as wind power or photovoltaic power generation, which have more guidance.