1.
This story was a Big Deal in China Energy this week and I didn't notice much chatter about it so I guess I'd better do a thread. 😎

China Green Power Procurement for Dummies:

So BASF has entered into Guangdong's first "RE-DPP." What does that stand for?
2.
RE-DPP stands for Renewable Energy Direct Power Purchase.

Basically the end-user (Germany's BASF) has signed a direct wholesale agreement with the power generator (China Resources) to procure ONLY green power via the wholesale market directly from the generator.
3.
While it has been possible in China for end-users and generators to sign direct contracts for a while, RE has been mostly excluded from this, unlike more liberalized power markets worldwide.

Allowing RE to now compete in this way is a Big and Good Thing in 3 ways. How so?
4.
Way 1: Allowing RE to compete in a wholesale market gives end-users an option to prove green power usage beyond onsite solar/green credits.

They now have a strong CSR story to tell. They can point to a whole new RE farm and say "we built that".

Additionality is good optics.
5.
Way 2: Of course it's also good news for the renewable energy generators. They now have a channel for direct access to customers that want exactly what they're selling. They don't have to worry about dispatch quotas or grid offtake risk etc. Guaranteed customers.
6.
Way 3: Finally, it's also good for decarbonization goals in general. Allowing RE to participate in wholesale exchanges brings us one step closer to a truly economic power market, where the cheapest power prospers and the expensive power is forced to shut down.
7.
Of course a few years ago, that would mean RE would be under pressure, as it was more expensive than coal.

These days it's competitive and even cheaper in some provinces. So participating in market competition makes sense now. Fossil generators will face the pressure instead.
8.
Previously RE was only able to participate in DPP in a few provinces, and in a a restrictive way, as summarized in this quote from a PV Magazine article

pv-magazine.com/2020/02/27/ren…:
9.
So yeah, an industrialized, net power-importing province like GD allowing direct power purchases between end users and RE generators is a Big Deal.

Already, other MNCs in GD with green power commitments are taking notice of the BASF deal, and they're reaching out to us. 😉
BTW, for the quant minded, how much additionality does this deal imply exactly?

BASF facility contracted 245 GWh. If that was satisfied entirely with solar, that would theroetically translate into a ~100-125MW solar PV farm (based on GD solar irradiance/capacity factor).

Fin.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with David Fishman

David Fishman Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @pretentiouswhat

21 Jun
So an update thread on this...I bought a smart controller for my AC, per the suggestion from @Silmarillion88 .

It was pretty easy to install...just plug the device into the wall and plug the AC into the device. Then you download the manufacturer's app and pair with the device. Image
Now I can control my AC from my phone, which is sweet for reducing energy usage.

I like coming home to a nice cool apartment, but I don't want to leave the AC running all day while out.

Last night I turned it on while landing at SZ airport and watched my AC work from the taxi.
Here's the interface from my phone (took this picture right after I turned it on yesterday).

It even gives me two pieces of information I can't get from my AC remote: the current indoor temperature and the power draw in watts. Image
Read 7 tweets
20 Jun
Hi! I often tweet long threads about China's energy sector, mostly grid, renewables, and nuclear.

This is a master collection of my favorites, from oldest to newest.

I will add more as they are created and remove oudated ones.
1. The messy recent history of China's nuclear power industry:

2. A summary of China's regional power grids and dispatch model:

Read 18 tweets
16 Jun
Finally, a press release from China's NNSA out just a few minutes ago re: Taishan.

Link [Chinese]:

mee.gov.cn/ywdt/zbft/2021…

My (as usual) quick and dirty translation here:

pastebin.com/YVASuXQ6

Commentary on main points to follow.
Point 1:
There are 5 damaged fuel rods in the Taishan Unit 1 core, in accordance with EDF statement yesterday and general commentary/predictions from nuclear industry tweeps. Well below design basis for continued operations of the reactor, so no shutdown expected.
Point 2:
An increase in radioactivity in the primary loop is indeed very different from a release outside of the plant. As long as that is the case, this is an operations issue for plant personnel, not a public safety concern.
Read 10 tweets
14 Jun
A few thoughts:

1)
Taishan is a Chinese plant built with French technology with a large French equity stake and Framatome is a French MNC offering technical services everywhere around the world (including the USA).
2)
Taishan is owned by CGN, which is on the US Entity List. Thus it would normally be forbidden to transfer US-derived technical information or data to CGN. A waiver may be obtained, however, for reasons of "operational safety", which is what Framatome is applying for.
3)
They're likely applying because either A. the information they are preparing to transfer originated in the US, or B. they don't want to impact their business in the US by doing work with CGN without full transparency. Probably both actually.
Read 11 tweets
19 Apr
Fairly important morning news from the China RE sector. I'll discuss a few more interesting tidbits from the release, beyond the lede:

1
Firstly, this is still a public consultation draft, so the final details could change a bit, but and revisions would likely be only minor.
2

Beyond the (non-hydro) RE consumption goals for 2021 and 2025, the notice also mentions the objective of hitting 25% non-fossil (includes hydro) energy consumption in time for the carbon peak in 2030, with at least 1200 GWs of solar and wind.
3

The next item in the notice mentions the need for each provincial region to increase its 'weight of responsibility' 责任权重 for RE consumption.

This is a reference to the next round of renewable portolio standard (RPS) levels, i.e. the minimum RE consumption level.
Read 6 tweets
12 Apr
A short thread about why I am not concerned about Fukushima releasing waste water into the Pacific, nor should you.

Tritium is a very weak beta emitter and the water is highly diluted.

Eating a delicious and nutritious banana will give you similar risk:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_eq…
The world is full of natural radiation, in the oceans, soil, and air. We live with radiation all the time.

An extreme example is this beach in Brazil, which will will give you a higher dose than working in a nuclear power plant for a year:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guarapari
A CT chest scan will give you a dose of 7-10 mSv, (millisieverts).

A 1,000 mSv dose will get you pretty sick.

A lethal dose is about 3,500 mSv.

(That's about 3.5 million bananas).

webmd.com/cancer/radiati…
Read 6 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

:(