"Blockchain + energy" may set off a new energy revolution
Date：2018-06-12
In recent years, the Energy Internet has gradually entered the world's horizon. Energy Internet is a comprehensive use of advanced power electronics technology, information technology and intelligent management technology, which will be a large number of new power networks, petroleum networks, natural gas networks and other energy sources composed of distributed energy collection devices, distributed energy storage devices and various types of loads. Nodes are interconnected to achieve an energy peer-to-peer exchange and sharing network where energy flows in both directions. In fact, the development logic of the Energy Internet is to reshape the future energy industry's development, transmission, utilization, storage and financial transactions, and will subvert the entire energy value chain in the future.
The blockchain revolution is coming
Blockchain technology is considered to be the next generation of disruptive core technology after steam engines, electricity, and the Internet. If the steam engine releases people's productivity, electricity solves people's basic needs for life, and the Internet has completely changed the way information is transmitted, then the blockchain as a machine for building trust will completely change the way the entire human society transmits value. Inevitable: Blockchain will redefine the world. At present, the blockchain revolution is coming, and China should not be missed.
At the 19th Academician Conference of the Chinese Academy of Sciences held on May 28, the 14th Academician Conference of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Represented by artificial intelligence, quantum information, mobile communications, Internet of Things, and blockchain A new generation of information technology is accelerating the breakthrough application ... The world is entering a period of economic development dominated by the information industry. "With regard to the risks of innovation, General Secretary Xi said:" Innovation has always been a nine-death life, but we must have the same mind Be kind, although nine deaths still have no regrets' pride. "
Public opinion believes that this is the first time that "blockchain" has appeared in the speech of the country's top leader. From the perspective of national strategy, it has clarified the important role of blockchain technology in the development of China's science and technology and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. At the same time, it affirmed that blockchain technology is the development direction of a new generation of information technology and an important component of the strategy of strengthening the country with science and technology. It is considered to be the achievement of the "China consensus" of blockchain. As an important part of the new generation of information technology, blockchain technology has a different meaning for China's development, prosperity, and renaissance.
Also from the highest level: At the just-held National Networking and Informatization Work Conference, General Secretary Xi Jinping clearly pointed out: "Core technology is the most important thing in the country, and we must be determined to maintain perseverance, find the center of gravity, and accelerate the breakthrough of core technology in the information field It is necessary to focus on the construction of the industrial system and make joint efforts in technological industry policies. We must follow the law of technological development to make a systematic technological layout, select the best and select the best, and focus on breakthroughs. "
General Secretary Xi Jinping also pointed out in his congratulatory letter to the China International Big Data Industry Expo 2018, which opened in Guiyang, Guizhou, May 26, that the new generation of information technology represented by the Internet, big data, and artificial intelligence is changing rapidly. The economic and social development, national management, social governance, and people's lives of all countries have brought significant and far-reaching effects. To grasp the important opportunities for the development of big data, promote the healthy development of the big data industry, and handle the challenges in data security and cyberspace governance, countries need to strengthen exchanges and mutual learning, and deepen communication and cooperation.
Here, the "Blockchain-New Order of Value Interconnection" high-end dialogue forum opened in the International Conference Hall of Guiyang International Ecological Conference Center. According to statistics, in this "number expo", there are as many as 8 sub-forums with blockchain as the theme of the conference, far exceeding other topics. At the same time, every forum related to blockchain is extremely popular. It is understood that the conference covers blockchain security, blockchain ecological development, blockchain transmission of Internet value, and the disruption and reconstruction of human society and economy brought by blockchain technology, the global economic and financial landscape, and the entity The impact of the economy, and how the blockchain is used for industrial application and development.
Blockchain "hot spots" don't stop there. Recently, the State Council issued the "Plan for Further Deepening the Reform and Opening-up of China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone," "Plan for Further Deepening the Reform and Opening-up of China (Tianjin) Pilot Free Trade Zone," and "Plan for Deepening the Reform and Opening-up of China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone ". In the "Further Deepening the Reform and Opening-up Plan of the China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone", the fifteenth "Building a Pilot Window for the Pilot Opening of the Financial Industry" stated: "Develop science and technology finance. According to the unified deployment of the State Council, support the Pilot Free Trade Zone to actively Strive to be included in the investment and loan linkage pilot to promote innovation and entrepreneurship. Build a regional equity market in Guangdong, and introduce Hong Kong, Macao and international investment institutions to participate in transactions in a timely manner according to the process of capital market opening to the outside world. Research and application of chain and big data technology. "
The "2018 China Blockchain Industry White Paper" released by the Information Center of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on May 20 comprehensively analyzes the implementation of China's blockchain technology in the financial field and the real economy. Yu Jianing, director of the Institute of Industrial Economics of the Information Center of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that China's blockchain industry is developing rapidly, and the number of enterprises is increasing rapidly. Internet giants are also actively arranging in the blockchain field. At the same time, governments in many places are actively positioning blockchain technology from a high degree of industry, and the policy system and regulatory framework are gradually improving. Inspector Li Ying of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Xinying, in his speech at the opening ceremony of the 2018 China International Big Data Industry Expo, also pointed out that today's blockchain, the entire domestic development and the international level are basically at the starting line. Today It should be a relatively good development opportunity.
Obviously, blockchain is so popular, which undoubtedly proves that the maturity of blockchain technology has improved and it is more closely integrated with the industry. The application scenarios of blockchain have been radiated to the integration with other industries, and in this process, the technical value of blockchain will be gradually released. The history of economic development has also proved that any financial innovation and technological innovation that are separate from the real economy are unsustainable. Under the current general trend of serving the real economy, the development of the blockchain can not avoid the historical law of being virtual and real.
It is important that the fundamental point of the blockchain economy is to create a completely new resource allocation method and the reconstruction of business logic, as well as the fusion of blockchain technology and tradition, and the ultimate goal of the blockchain technology and its technical combination is to solve the problem of space and Entity mapping problem. People are gratified that the current "Blockchain +" has become China's national strategy and has risen to the height of the industry's strategic layout. The energy industry is no exception, and "blockchain + energy" has continued to be popular since the beginning of 2018, especially showing strong application potential in the field of energy internet and new energy.
Blockchain and energy internet: a match made in heaven
In recent years, the Energy Internet has gradually entered the world's horizon. Energy Internet is a comprehensive use of advanced power electronics technology, information technology and intelligent management technology, which will be a large number of new power networks, petroleum networks, natural gas networks and other energy sources composed of distributed energy collection devices, distributed energy storage devices and various types of loads. Nodes are interconnected to achieve an energy peer-to-peer exchange and sharing network where energy flows in both directions. In fact, the development logic of the Energy Internet is to reshape the future energy industry's development, transmission, utilization, storage and financial transactions, and will subvert the entire energy value chain in the future. Industry analysts believe that taking the most important sector of energy internet energy consumption as an example, consumers in the era of energy internet will not only be consumers, but also appear in another new form, called production and marketing By. In the future, consumers can not only use their own distributed renewable energy to generate electricity, but also use smart energy solutions to provide user-side load resources to participate in demand-side responses. Consumers can actively participate in community demand-side response projects through demand-side response plans, and can join virtual power plant projects as members of virtual power plants. They can also sell electricity back to the grid through electric vehicles and energy storage facilities.
This "scene" sounds beautiful, but how to land it is a big challenge for power practitioners and regulators. According to analysis, the reason is that the reconstruction of the power value chain is inseparable from new technologies, new systems and new business models, and the current development in these areas is very uncoordinated. This just proves that even if China's renewable energy is abundant, high-quality resources are frequently wasted, such as the abandonment of wind and light in the Midwest. As for the consumer side, electricity prices are upside down, which is contrary to normal. Undoubtedly, the combination of technology and the corresponding market mechanism can shape the future form of the new energy industry. These are exactly what the energy internet does not currently have. Moreover, the ideas and concepts of today's energy Internet have many loopholes, and it seems difficult to land as a solution.
Fortunately, the point in time we are now is the singularity of technology, and this singularity is the point of accelerated explosion and iteration of technology. This is not, another singularity is coming-blockchain. The concept of "Blockchain" as the underlying technology of bitcoin debuted, and was evaluated as "the core technology that has the most potential to trigger the fifth round of disruptive revolution after the steam engine, electricity, information and Internet technology." , Let us see a broader future.
Indeed, blockchain and energy internet are a natural fit. Energy Internet, as an "Internet +" smart energy product of multiple energy integration, information physical integration, and multi-market integration, has attracted extensive attention from academia and industry. Some analysts claim that “Internet +” smart energy is trying to establish “a new form of energy industry development in which the Internet and energy production, transmission, storage, consumption, and energy market are deeply integrated” to achieve “device intelligence, multi-energy collaboration, and information symmetry. Decentralized supply and demand, flat system, open trading ". Blockchain, as a decentralized (open, flat, equal, system structure without compulsory central control) database technology, has begun to enter people's vision in recent years. Blockchain technology itself is innovating the traditional Internet pattern and model, with trust as the core to promote efficient operation in many aspects such as transactions and authentication. Similarly, in the era of energy internet, blockchain technology will promote the coordination of multiple forms of energy and various participants, promote the further integration of information and physical systems, and realize the diversification and low cost of transactions.
In addition, in reality, since 2000, China's distributed photovoltaic, small fan and other clean energy projects in the western and southwest regions have continued to expand, and new energy has become a part of economic development. The brand-new concept of energy producer and consumer also came into being. According to reports, when the energy produced exceeds the consumer's own demand, the need for energy transactions among localized energy users continues to increase. These transactions generally have the characteristics of small amount, high frequency and scattered participants. For the market to build a platform that is compatible with the characteristics of distributed energy transactions, especially new energy, to better achieve regional energy balance, a blockchain model has emerged.
"Blockchain + energy": how to "chain"?
So, what role does blockchain technology play in the interconnection of energy? Professor Zhu Gaogang of Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics said that one is memory; the other is computing. It can be said that the blockchain is the memory center of smart energy, which completely records the entire process of energy production and consumption. In layman's terms, the blockchain is a "public big account" that records all transaction information on the entire network using computer programs. It can make the participants in the entire industrial chain make safe decisions and maximize its benefits.
Obviously, the decentralization, detrust, transparency, fairness, openness and distributed decision-making of blockchain technology are in line with the needs of current energy reform. Therefore, the use of blockchain is expected to create a decentralized power market and promote the rapid development of distributed energy. Insiders said that the goal of applying blockchain technology in the energy industry is to provide a completely decentralized energy system, and energy supply contracts can be directly communicated between producers and consumers. Blockchain technology helps strengthen the market influence of individual consumers and producers, which also enables consumers to directly have a high degree of autonomy to purchase and sell energy. Blockchain technology shows strong application potential in the energy field. In addition to performing energy supply transactions, blockchain technology can also provide the basis for measurement, billing and settlement processes.
Cao Yin, chief blockchain expert and chief energy internet researcher of Cinda Securities, also believes that the current energy internet concept can be sublimated to a new form of the energy internet 2.0 era through blockchain. The key point is that blockchain technology actually has a very strong internal consistency with the Energy Internet: First, they all emphasize decentralization, such as the distribution of power in the Energy Internet and the new relationship between consumers and producers. They are all decentralized in the energy industry; second, they all have autonomy or self-discipline. In the Internet of Energy, special emphasis is placed on the ecological and autonomous operation of systems and equipment and the main body, and the autonomy of the blockchain is Perfect combination; third, they all attach importance to marketization. Blockchain itself is a financial technology, which is a natural fit with the marketization and financialization of the future energy Internet; fourth, intelligentization and contractualization, based on self-discipline control in the future A large number of scheduling behaviors, trading behaviors, interactive behaviors, and other decision-making behaviors in the smart energy system are automatically based on environmental data. The logic code has been embedded in the design, which is exactly the same as the smart contract of the blockchain.
The research results of Professor Zeng Ming, director of the Energy Internet Research Center of North China Electric Power University and his scientific research team show that in the energy Internet, each period of time will focus on centralized energy supply, distributed energy supply, and multiple intelligences in the energy internet system during the period. The data information of multiple modules such as transportation network, energy storage, and users is aggregated to form an energy block, including energy consumption data, equipment operation data, scheduling data, transaction records and other data, and to ensure the traceability and data of the blockchain It can't be tampered with, time stamped, connected to the energy block of the previous period with an irreversible time dimension to form an energy block chain, and completely records the system operation of the energy Internet in each time period.
According to He Yansha, chairman of Liansheng New Energy Group, the largest distributed photovoltaic investor in China, the biggest benefit of blockchain is security, which solves the intermediary credit problem. In the past, it was not possible for two people who did not know and trust each other to reach collaboration, and they had to rely on a third party. With blockchain technology, you can complete mutual trust transfers without any intermediaries. The direct benefit of using blockchain in the energy field is that energy can be digitally managed. In the future, a digital file can be established for each kilowatt-hour source, and the source can be produced, accessed, and transported to the terminal to achieve traceability and precise management. . He Yansha also said that due to the immaturity of the financing model for controlling risks with power plant assets, financial institutions generally cannot use distributed photovoltaic systems as an asset that can bring stable income, and cannot provide loans with cash flow guarantee for the project. After the blockchain technology is applied in the energy field, it can provide reliable basic data services and technical support for photovoltaic power plants, and provide a reliable basis for financial institutions to evaluate power plant assets.
In fact, clean energy around the world can also be connected with the Internet, of course, first of all must have energy Internet thinking. According to industry estimates, blockchain + Internet + AI means that the world's disruptive reconstruction will surpass the economic field, penetrate into the distribution of assets and resources, and promote the large-scale large-scale science, medical, education, and health fields. Coordinated combat. Only blockchain technology can integrate many resources across all boundaries and build a new trust based on trust
