Integrated energy business is a new form of energy service derived from the new round of power system reforms and new technological breakthroughs.

Its essence is driven by the market and digital technology is used to promote multi-dimensional coordination and interaction to achieve energy efficiency and energy security.

Service precision, ecological coordination and economic efficiency. Therefore, the integrated energy business is not only an energy-based modern service industry, but also a new format led by cross-border innovation.

New energy companies launching integrated energy business can reduce social energy costs in terms of social benefits; for companies, they can expand their business scope and increase their profitability.

Advantages and constraints

The integrated energy service takes the power system as the core, and strives to change the existing mode of independent planning, independent design and independent operation of various energy supply systems such as power supply, gas supply, cooling and heating.

Using modern physical information technology, intelligent technology, and management mode, in the process of planning, design, construction and operation, the integrated energy organically coordinates and optimizes the distribution, conversion, storage, and consumption of various energy sources, and makes full use of renewable energy A new regional energy supply system for energy.

1. Advantages of developing integrated energy business

Regional advantages: New energy companies have extensive business distribution, so they are familiar with many parts of the country, and have geographic advantages in project information acquisition and local government resource coordination.

Investment advantages: New energy companies have a large number of project cases and investment experience in the pre-project, project approval, scientific research and development process control.

Although the integrated energy service business is relatively complex, it is less expensive than the investment in new energy projects such as wind power and photovoltaics. There is not much substantial difference.

 

In addition, some new energy companies also have experience in industrial investment, mergers and acquisitions, and new business incubation, which have certain advantages for the development and diversification of integrated energy projects.

Cost advantage: New energy companies are mostly central enterprises or large private enterprises, with outstanding advantages in financing costs and risk control.

Compared with small private enterprises, financing costs are greatly reduced, which provides better costs for later project development and operation control.

Industrial advantages: New energy companies mainly invest in the development of renewable energy, including wind power and photovoltaics, which is consistent with the integrated energy service usually based on clean energy.

2. Constraints on the development of integrated energy business

The traditional energy industry is mostly a vertical model that extends from the upstream to the downstream of the industrial chain, while the integrated energy business is a horizontal model that provides one-stop services around customer needs. For new energy companies, how to change from the traditional model to the new model requires some adjustments.

One is the adjustment of the service model. That is, from a product-centric model to a customer-centric service model. Traditional energy industries often provide services around product marketing, and the service model is centered on products.

The integrated energy service is based on energy services as the main business, and services are developed around the comprehensive needs of customers. The service model is customer-centric.

In order to improve customer satisfaction and enhance customer loyalty, comprehensive energy service companies can not only provide energy services, but also provide customers with the ultimate demand behind energy consumption, considering customer requirements for cost, safety, comfort, convenience, and speed.

Related services such as property management, waste disposal, carbon finance, and smart life.

The second is the adjustment of the interactive relationship. The focus of integrated energy services is to develop marketing around relationships, to establish, maintain, and stabilize close and long-term interactive relationships with customers, to fully develop the interaction of energy flow, information flow, and business flow, and to attract frequent visits from customers.

To win strong recognition and even preference from customers to the company.

New energy companies often interact with the power grid frequently, but have relatively little contact with end customers.

Therefore, how to change their roles and change the thinking habits that have been formed over a long period of time requires companies that carry out integrated energy business to make adjustments as soon as possible.

Development ideas and related suggestions

Currently, integrated energy services are still at a relatively early stage of development, and many companies do not have the ability to provide customers with integrated energy services.

For most new energy companies, the advantage lies in the development and operation of new energy projects. There are relatively few advantages in the supply of heat, cold, and gas.

In terms of new forms of power, such as electricity sales, energy storage, and incremental Distribution network, micro-grid and other fields are relatively less involved.

In this context, it is difficult to directly enter the field of integrated energy services. Therefore, it is recommended that companies take steps such as cooperation-mergers and acquisitions-self-investment and construction, etc., in a gradual transitional way.

In terms of the development model, it is recommended to start in the early stage through cooperation.

For new energy companies, electricity is a core asset and core competitive advantage, and integrated energy services are also developed with electricity as the core, especially around the sale of electricity and related value-added services.

Therefore, the easiest way to quickly enter the market in the short term is to adopt a cooperation model: cooperation with grid companies or companies that have already developed integrated energy service businesses can quickly achieve complementary advantages and make it easier to quickly enter the market.

For example, the Shenzhen International Low-Carbon City Multi-energy Complementary Integration and Optimization Demonstration Project is a three-party cooperation between Jingneng Group, Shenzhen Gas and China Southern Power Grid.

The three parties have their respective advantages in power generation, gas supply, and distribution network , And complementary advantages. The project is two sub-projects of regional incremental distribution network and distributed energy station. The total planned area is about 53 square kilometers.

The Gaoqiao Park and surrounding areas are 5 square kilometers as the expansion area, and the core area is about 1 square kilometers. The start-up area has a construction area of ​​about 1.8 million square meters and a construction period of 7 years.

Among them, Jingneng Group is responsible for the construction of distributed energy stations, and Shenneng Group is responsible for industrial projects such as energy conservation and environmental protection industrial parks. The total installed capacity of the project is about 60MW.

It is a gas-steam cogeneration distributed energy station. The main components of the project are distributed energy stations, biogas preparation centers, smart grid projects, and cooling and heating grid projects. According to the project plan, the waste heat of distributed energy stations will be concentrated to provide cooling and heating to users in low-carbon cities.

At the same time, a regional smart micro-grid will be built to organically integrate wind and solar energy storage and triple energy supply, and coordinate and optimize them.

In the process of cooperating with related enterprises, we should give full play to the advantages of “electricity”, actively seize the right to operate the distribution network, and strive for the advantages of the industrial chain.

In February 2018, the “Implementation Measures for the Division of Distribution Areas for Incremental Distribution Business (Trial)” (draft for comments) was released, stating that “in a distribution area, only one electricity sales company can own the right to operate the distribution network “.

As a power generation company, it should actively strive for the right to operate the distribution network and take the initiative for the follow-up integrated energy service business.

From the business structure, it is recommended to establish an integrated energy business department.

Integrated energy service is a relatively complex system engineering, and the inherent structure of traditional new energy companies with electricity as the core is not completely compatible with integrated energy.

Therefore, under new business conditions, it is necessary to use more comprehensive thinking to carry out energy planning, construction, supply, and operation and maintenance services.

This requires companies to set up special departments to coordinate integrated energy business as a whole, and change the past departmental refinement to Only responsible for the status of the department’s work.

The business model of integrated energy services will have a severe impact on the business model of traditional energy services. New equipment status monitoring, asset operation and maintenance and custody, energy storage network management and operation, intelligent energy production, and comprehensive energy transmission and consumption will become Important trends in the field of energy services.

The integrated energy business requires not only the coordination and management of the integrated department, but also the authority to allocate resources to the department. Only in this way can work be carried out more quickly and efficiently.

In terms of technical form, focus on the construction and research of smart energy platforms.

The smart energy platform is the brain of the integrated energy service business. The construction of this platform is related to the operational effectiveness and economic benefits of the project.

The smart energy platform uses big data and cloud computing technologies to intelligently analyze user needs, load forecasting, equipment management, information management, power distribution operation and maintenance, demand response, etc., to provide effective decision support services, and finally provide intelligent and optimal Optimized solution.

As an investor and operator of integrated energy services, new energy companies should choose the best suppliers in the selection of smart energy platforms.

At present, many App and service companies provide related services, such as Alibaba Cloud Integrated Energy Service Platform, Shuangliang Energy-saving Smart Operation and Maintenance Platform, and Smart Energy Internet Platform developed by Henghua Technology. Among multiple suppliers, everyone mainly recommends Alibaba Cloud’s integrated energy service platform.

Alibaba Cloud’s integrated energy service platform builds a business center for competitive integrated energy services in a “thick platform, micro-application” approach, which can quickly build power saving and energy saving, power demand side, electricity, energy efficiency management, energy storage, and microgrid integration Ecological applications such as energy and power trading.

This platform is based on the practice and theory of alibaba in the middle and Taiwan. For the competitive challenges of the integrated energy industry that also has highly uncertain demands, through Alibaba’s middle and Taiwan technology components, it provides rapid application innovation and iteration, operation and related data mining and analysis capabilities. It can ensure the reliability and stability of the platform while the business is growing rapidly.

In terms of resource acquisition, it is recommended to vigorously expand the circle of friends.

The integrated energy business involves many interest groups, including local governments and park managers, as well as owners and original related service providers in the park. Relatively complex interest groups often become obstacles to the smooth implementation of the project.

In order to obtain a variety of necessary resources and improve the ability to provide customers with comprehensive solutions, integrated energy service companies must develop partnerships, establish excellent network connectivity, and create a mutually beneficial business ecosystem.

Enterprise development partnerships usually include strategic alliances between non-competitors, strategic alliances between competitors, joint ventures to develop new businesses, and buyer-supplier partnerships to develop stable suppliers to effectively promote scale Effectiveness, risk reduction and resource acquisition.

From the project experience, pay attention to the operation of the comprehensive energy service (multi-energy complementary) demonstration project announced by the state.

In recent years, the National Energy Administration has successively announced a number of demonstration projects, including multi-energy complementary demonstration projects, energy Internet demonstration projects, etc. Most of these projects are integrated energy business projects.

However, the degree of progress and profitability of the project are different. Therefore, it is recommended to pay attention to related projects that have been announced or planned by the country.

At the beginning of 2017, the National Energy Administration issued the “Notice on Announcement of the First Batch of Multi-energy Complementary Integration and Optimization Demonstration Projects”, and finally determined the first batch of 23 projects in the first batch of multi-energy complementary integration and optimization demonstration projects.

At present, the progress of the above-mentioned projects is quite different. Some of them have been put into operation, and some of the projects have encountered some difficulties due to problems in approval, indicators and prices.

Due to the lack of relevant policies, for example, the country has not yet issued an electricity price policy for natural gas micro-gas turbines, energy storage and multi-energy complementary integrated projects, resulting in enterprises’ investment in micro-gas turbine power generation, energy storage equipment and energy complementary technologies that cannot obtain economic benefits.

For example, in the distributed energy project of Xi’an National Civil Aerospace Industry Base, the local natural gas sales price is high and the on-grid electricity price of gas-fired power generation is not straightened out, which makes it difficult for the project itself to be profitable and its economic benefits are greatly reduced.

On the other hand, the profitability of the current comprehensive energy service projects is not satisfactory. For example, for the comprehensive energy service projects operated by the State Power Investment Corporation and the State Grid Comprehensive Energy Group, with the exception of a small number of projects that have the right to open, most of the projects currently in operation are difficult to profit in the short term.

The short-term strategy of the above-mentioned enterprises is to “re-layout. “Light profit”, take the lead in seizing market opportunities, and optimize and improve after accumulating project operation experience.

In terms of business scope, it actively pays attention to related industries such as new infrastructure.

In the layout of the integrated energy business scope, as mentioned in the previous section, industrial parks are the first choice. However, with the adjustment of national policies, we should actively deploy new infrastructure and other related emerging industries.

The “new infrastructure” represented by 5G base stations, big data centers, industrial Internet, and new energy vehicle charging piles is developing vigorously, and related fields are all large power consumers. The local power increase will bring the large-scale development of distributed power stations Come opportunity.

With the acceleration of 5G infrastructure construction, the demand for big data centers will grow rapidly. The big data center has the characteristics of uninterrupted operation, stable power load and cooling load, and large power consumption and cooling capacity. There is huge market space for stable integrated energy supply services of cold, heat and electricity.

Generally speaking, as an emerging form of energy business, integrated energy services are generally relatively rudimentary in development, so they are also faced with problems such as imperfect policies and lack of talents.

However, integrated energy service is one of the important directions for the future development of the energy industry. As a new energy company that provides clean power to the society, it can seize the opportunity to deploy integrated energy service business to cultivate more business models.