Interfax-China reported that the regulation that currently requires Chinese power grid companies to purchase all of the electricity generated by renewable energy projects is unrealistic and is proving difficult to meet.

As such, the central government is considering a draft amendment to China's Renewable Energy Law that, if accepted, would set a minimum target for the amount of electricity that power grid companies must buy from renewable energy projects.

Mr Zhou Fengqi a senior adviser of the National Development and Reform Commission told Interfax at the 2009 Advanced Wind Technology and Investment Summit held by Lnoppen that he growing electricity output of renewable energy projects has made it difficult for power grid companies to maintain the stability of the power grid system.

He said that Power grid companies used to say that they could handle electricity output from renewable energy projects as long as it did not make up more than 10% of their total transmission. He added that the proportion of electricity output from renewable energy projects that power grids can handle remains unclear. He also said the government and power grid companies are researching the problem.

Mr Zhou believes power grid companies can address the issue of an unstable power grid system through the construction of smart grids as smart grids react faster to changes in electricity output from power plants, which will allow for better management of the electricity load.

In addition, they can pair renewable energy projects with other, more traditional power generation projects within the grid system or combine wind power projects with solar power or hydropower projects. On top of that, different regions could choose to build renewable energy projects in tandem with pumped storage power projects or battery storage facilities.

Mr Liang Zhenfei director of production of Inner Mongolia Huadian Huitengxile Wind Power Co Ltd a wind farm developer and operator said however, power grid companies also have difficulty complying with the regulation as they sometimes have to prioritize electricity output from thermal power plants over that of renewable energy projects. For example, thermal power plants in northern China need to operate at the maximum rate as they are responsible for producing heat as well as electricity.

He said that "At these times, power grids need to take on more electricity from thermal power plants than usual and transmit less electricity from wind farms. We can understand the difficulties that power grid companies face."

(Sourced from Interfax-China)