How far is the energy internet
2024-06-12 3289● Maybe 20 years later, the Internet will reshuffle the traditional energy industry as it impacts traditional businesses, and a new industrial organization model of energy production and consumption - Internet energy
● Internet energy is an energy production and consumption mode constructed from the perspective of customers, which is a decentralized and decentralized "no center network"
● In the traditional energy system, the electricity generated by solar energy on the roof of your home can only be sold to the power grid if it is not used up. In the future, Internet energy may skip the intermediate link and trade directly
Wang Yusuo, chairman of the board of directors of ENN Group, boldly predicted at a forum at the end of last year that, perhaps 20 years later, the Internet will be like an impact on traditional business, reshuffling the traditional energy industry, and Internet energy will be a new form of energy in the future.
Many people in the energy industry, including those around Wang Yusuo, feel that Wang Yusuo's prophecy is too bold and advanced. Will the Internet really subvert the energy industry? What is the so-called Internet energy? What changes will it bring us? With doubts in mind, the reporter recently conducted an exclusive interview with Wang Yusuo.
Energy -- the next "subversive" object of the Internet
Reporter: Your prediction that the Internet will reshuffle the energy industry is more advanced than the original bet between Ma Yun and Wang Jianlin. Will the Internet really subvert the traditional energy industry?
Wang Yusuo: To answer your question, we should first look at how the Internet has changed the economy and society.
I think the changes brought by the Internet to today's society are subversive. It has changed both our production methods and our consumption habits. The depth of this transformation exceeds any technology in the past.
Why does the Internet change our production and consumption? In my opinion, the most important point is that the Internet can integrate decentralized, complex and massive information, make information exchange simple and transparent, and make information more and more symmetrical. At the same time, the Internet has also realized the real-time and convenient settlement of funds, promoted and promoted the development of logistics, and made it more efficient and fast.
The above three characteristics have been seen from the business field that the Internet first subverted. For example, integrating and processing massive amounts of information, Jack Ma once told me that Alibaba, connecting 9 million merchants and nearly 100 million customers, has become a bridge between these two ends, and Taobao has earned profits. Imagine that without the Internet, it is unimaginable for any traditional commercial enterprise to install 9 million merchants and nearly 100 million customers.
The Internet has also brought changes to the economic pattern. Firstly, it reduces intermediate links and flattens trading channels, thereby reducing market transaction costs. For example, the low price of online shopping is a good proof. Secondly, the Internet has also led to the reduction of the market entry threshold and the expansion of the market boundary. As we can see in the e-commerce field, there is almost no entry threshold in this industry. As long as there is a computer that can access the Internet, everyone can open an online shop.
Therefore, the changes brought about by the Internet are "subversive", which has already taken place in the business field. So, will it also appear in the energy sector? I think it will.
Due to the dual pressures of resources and environment, the global energy landscape is shifting from a traditional energy structure dominated by fossil fuels to a modern energy structure dominated by renewable energy. This round of energy transformation not only changes the energy products themselves, but also the production form of energy will change accordingly. Distributed energy will inevitably replace centralized energy and become the mainstream of energy production. Because in order for new energy sources such as wind and light to truly achieve great development, a distributed layout must be adopted, which has become a consensus in the energy industry.
Distributed energy will change the current production and consumption patterns of energy, and bring impacts to existing energy networks. For example, if your home has built distributed solar energy, what should we do when there is no sun? You need to buy electricity. What if the sun generates more electricity and you can't use it all? You need to sell electricity again. The emergence of millions of distributed energy producers will inevitably bring massive demand information, and only convenient, efficient, and low-cost information processing platforms can meet this change. Therefore, the future distributed energy can only solve problems by adopting the Internet model and relying on Internet thinking.
In other words, Taobao has emerged in the business field today, and in the future, "Energy Taobao" will also emerge, which will definitely have a "disruptive" effect on the existing energy system.
"Internet energy" will lead to "chemical change"
Journalist: From your explanation, it seems inevitable that the energy industry will be "shuffled" in the future. So, what changes will occur in the energy industry after being shuffled?
Wang Yusuo: There will definitely be "chemical changes". The deep integration of the Internet and distributed energy will lead to a new industrial organization mode of energy production and consumption - Internet energy.
The so-called Internet energy, which I think is different from the current energy system, is a new type of business. I give it a summary of "five modernizations": ecological structure, diversified subjects, multilateral transactions, standardized goods, and intelligent logistics.
It is easy to understand the ecological structure, that is, the future Internet energy is an energy structure dominated by renewable energy and supported by traditional energy, especially clean gas energy.
The diversification of the main body will be the change of the market pattern brought about by Internet energy. Distributed energy will generate new market units that integrate production and energy consumption, thus forming diverse market entities. The more diverse the market entities are, the lower the dependence of consumers on traditional large energy companies.
Multilateralization of transactions is a more profound change brought about by Internet energy on the basis of diversification of subjects. Because in the Internet energy structure, "everyone is a consumer and can also be a producer", if you compare Internet energy to "Energy Taobao", then this "Energy Taobao" is no longer a unilateral transaction, nor a bilateral transaction, but a multilateral transaction. In other words, various entities compete freely and collaborate with each other in this market, ultimately achieving optimal energy efficiency and maximizing energy value.
Commodity standardization is a new demand for Internet energy in the transaction link. It requires a kind of equipment that can efficiently and conveniently convert different types of energy. For example, if I want heat and your house has excess electricity or gas, then you need to convert electricity or gas into heat. According to the needs of customers, flexible output of heat, electricity, cold and other different types of energy is a major feature of the future Internet energy.
Just like today's e-commerce, logistics bottlenecks will lead to "intestinal obstruction", Internet energy can not be separated from logistics intelligence. The intelligence of logistics networks includes two aspects: firstly, to eliminate industry barriers and achieve free access and interconnectivity of pipeline networks; The second is to achieve intelligent energy distribution. Due to the significant challenges posed by complex multilateral transactions and bidirectional flows to energy delivery systems, it is difficult to achieve without intelligent means, which is also an important foundation for achieving transactions.
Finally, I would like to emphasize that Internet energy is an energy production and consumption mode constructed from the perspective of customers, and it is a decentralized "decentralized network". The biggest difference between this and the current energy system, including the smart grid proposed by the United States or the energy networking proposed by Europe, is that the latter focuses more on the informatization and intelligent transformation of traditional businesses from the perspective of enterprises or industries, and the essence of having a central network has not changed.
Of course, Internet energy does not exclude smart grids and networking. In terms of logistics, they are also needed, and the two should be well integrated.
Lower cost and better service - "Internet energy" will bring greater benefits to consumers
Reporter: What practical benefits will Internet energy bring to each of our consumers?
Wang Yusuo: If you are a Taobao user, you may have experienced the benefits of Internet commerce to consumers. As for Internet energy, I think there are three points: lower cost, better service and more independent rights.
Let's start with low cost. Some people may find it difficult to understand that scale brings benefits, and how can decentralization also improve efficiency? The truth is actually simple. Although distributed production reduces the scale of individual production units, it seems to reduce economies of scale. However, renewable energy sources such as wind and light are different from fossil fuels, and their biggest characteristic is that they are "ubiquitous", and not using them is waste. Therefore, making use of more decentralized renewable energy through Internet energy is another form of large-scale production. From the perspective of human resources, it has greatly improved the utilization efficiency. For individuals, generating electricity by themselves can reduce costs.
Secondly, reducing transaction links will also lead to cost reduction. For example, in the traditional energy system, the electricity generated by your rooftop solar energy cannot be used up and can only be sold to the grid. The power grid takes your electricity and resells it to others, playing the role of an intermediary. In the future Internet energy, you can sell the surplus electricity directly to Zhang San or Li Si who need it. You can even turn it into hot water and sell it directly to neighbors downstairs who need hot water. By removing intermediate links, transaction costs will naturally decrease.
The full competition and the integration of production and energy give users more autonomy in their choices, which will expand their rights and facilitate the acquisition of higher quality services. This is a common sense issue in a market economy, and I will not elaborate further.
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