New energy power generation is an important way to solve the dual crisis of China’s energy supply shortage and environmental pollution, and it is a technology worthy of vigorous promotion and application. However, at present, there are still many problems in new energy power generation, including technical problems, power supply structure problems, grid structure problems, and policy problems, which restrict the popularization and application of new energy power generation technologies.
Currently commonly used new energy power generation technologies, such as photovoltaic power generation, wind power generation, nuclear power, etc., have some technical constraints.
1. Solar photovoltaic power generation
First of all, there are restrictive factors for photovoltaic conversion rate in solar photovoltaic power generation. As we all know, the main function of solar photovoltaic cells is to convert light energy into electrical energy, which makes there are multiple considerations when choosing raw materials for solar panels. On the one hand, we must consider the light guide effect of the material and how to generate the internal electric field. This requires that the material we choose not only has a light absorption effect, but also a light guide effect. On the other hand, we must also fully understand the composition of sunlight and the distribution of its energy in the band. However, due to the limitation of the technical level, what is done is basically to select the material in a certain maximum spectral band, and the energy resources of other bands are basically wasted, so that the conversion rate is always at a low level. As far as China’s current manufacturing level is concerned, it is not easy for monocrystalline silicon cells to achieve a conversion rate of 18%, while polycrystalline silicon cells are even lower than this value. Due to the low energy density of sunlight and the low conversion rate of photovoltaic cells, the installation of photovoltaic power stations requires a large area, and space factors limit the large-scale application of photovoltaic technology.
Secondly, the solar photovoltaic power generation technology itself is greatly affected by the change of day and night and the cloud and rain weather. How to realize the 24h continuous power supply of solar power is a technical problem a few days ago.
First of all, there is a problem of wind power quality. The magnitude and direction of natural wind speed vary randomly, and wind energy is unstable. How to stabilize and maximize the output power of wind turbines is an important problem in wind power technology.
Secondly, due to the variability of wind resources, wind fluctuations can easily cause harmful mechanical loads and increase the stress on components. Often in order to disperse these stresses, more quality is required. How to reduce these stresses, thereby reducing the quality of related components and the overall unit, reducing wear, and further reducing costs, is another major problem facing wind power technology.
Finally, the current grid technology also requires wind turbines to have a strong low-voltage ride-through capability, which is also a major problem in the current wind power technology.
At present, an important problem of nuclear power generation technology is safety, including the safe transportation and storage of nuclear fuel rods and the subsequent processing of nuclear waste, as well as the seismic resistance of the nuclear power unit itself. The Fukushima nuclear leak in Japan once again sounded the alarm for us.
