What new changes have taken place in the energy industry through SNEC?
On June 11th, the three - day 2025 SNEC Photovoltaic Exhibition was officially launched.
Since 2024, the photovoltaic industry has undergone changes in multiple dimensions such as supply and demand, policies, and technology, and is generally moving towards refined and high - quality development. At this critical turning point in the industry's ecological system, this year's SNEC undoubtedly serves as the best window to gain insights into the future direction of the industry. So, what trends in this industry event are worthy of attention?
01. The integration of photovoltaics and energy storage becomes the mainstream
At this exhibition, photovoltaic and energy storage enterprises have successively launched products related to the integration of photovoltaics and energy storage, which has become one of the most prominent trends. For example, Chint displayed an integrated solution for photovoltaic power generation, energy storage, and charging; Dongfang Risheng launched an all - scenario solution for photovoltaics and energy storage.
The reason for the above - mentioned trend is that as the proportion of new energy sources such as photovoltaics and wind power in the power structure continues to increase, their inherent intermittency and volatility pose great challenges to the safe and stable operation of the power system. The reconstruction of the power system is imminent.
On the policy front, on June 4th, the National Energy Administration issued the "Notice on Organizing and Carrying out the First Batch of Pilot Projects for the Construction of a New - type Power System", clearly stating that pilot projects will be carried out in seven directions, including grid - forming technology, system - friendly new energy power plants, smart microgrids, the synergy between computing power and electricity, virtual power plants, large - scale and high - proportion new energy transmission, and a new generation of coal - fired power plants. Among them, directions such as grid - forming technology, system - friendly new energy power plants, and virtual power plants are all closely related to energy storage applications.
The energy storage system can, on the one hand, smooth the power output curve on the power generation side and reduce the curtailment of solar and wind power; on the other hand, it can provide auxiliary services such as peak shaving, frequency regulation, and standby on the power grid side. It is a key means to enhance the flexibility and resilience of the power grid and solve the problem of grid - connected consumption of a high proportion of renewable energy. Therefore, the integration of photovoltaics and energy storage is a basic application and a necessary means to adapt to the trend of power system reconstruction.
On this basis, as one of the few domestic energy service enterprises with a full - industry - chain integrating "power generation, power storage, power transmission, power transformation, power distribution, power sales, and power consumption", Chint has successfully deployed a city - level virtual power plant in Songjiang District, Shanghai, and successfully applied the DeepSeek artificial intelligence system to this project, successfully constructing a new model of "AI + virtual power plant". In addition, Chint has also successfully built and operated two incremental distribution network projects in Huanggang, Hubei, and Huaibei, Anhui. Among them, the incremental distribution network project in Huanggang, Hubei, has built more than 62MW of distributed photovoltaics and 17.5MW/35MWh of electrochemical energy storage, achieving full consumption of photovoltaic power generation.
02. Transformation from "operators" to comprehensive energy service providers
In addition to the promotion from the policy front, another core of building a new - type power system lies in stimulating the active participation of the demand side through the important impetus of power market reform.
As the on - grid electricity of new energy projects such as wind power and photovoltaics gradually enters the market for trading, the traditional profit model of power plant operators, which is based on a fixed electricity price plus subsidies, has been impacted. This has prompted relevant enterprises to transform from single - asset holders and operators of power generation assets to comprehensive solution providers capable of providing diversified energy products and services. Specifically, this mainly includes two main directions:
Firstly, providing value - added services on the basis of existing businesses. For example, distributed industrial and commercial photovoltaics adopt the energy management contract (EMC) model, obtaining stable cash flow by charging preferential electricity fees from energy - using enterprises or sharing energy - saving benefits; household photovoltaics explore one - stop comprehensive solutions such as BIPV, obtaining incremental revenue by selling physical products and providing operation services; centralized power plants increase agricultural revenue by exploring the combination of fishing and photovoltaics, animal husbandry and photovoltaics, and agriculture and photovoltaics.
Secondly, actively building a new - type power system and directly participating in power trading or providing auxiliary services. For example, by building virtual power plants and smart microgrids to participate in the auxiliary service markets such as peak shaving and frequency regulation of the power grid, enterprises can obtain market - based revenue; through the integration of photovoltaics and energy storage, they can conduct reverse trading during peak - valley electricity prices to obtain price difference revenue.
At this year's SNEC exhibition, Chintaneng displayed a panoramic sand table of "comprehensive energy + comprehensive services" business. Supported by virtual power plant (VPP) and energy - as - a - service (EaaS) technologies, the sand table systematically demonstrates core sectors including rural households, smart microgrids for entire villages and communities, comprehensive energy solutions for urban households, and global businesses. It is worth noting that in the field of urban households, Chintaneng has innovatively launched a high - end private residence customized green power solution called "Taishu Green Energy", a balcony photovoltaic solution called "Taishu Wangyun", and a photovoltaic carport solution, exploring a promising new profit model for photovoltaic operators.
03. ESG gradually moves to the center stage
A notable sign is that ESG has begun to appear frequently in the forums and conferences of this year's SNEC.
The conference not only discussed how to integrate the concept of sustainable development into the core business of enterprises in the Global Green Energy Leaders' Dialogue but also conducted an in - depth analysis of the specific application of the ESG investment concept in new energy projects at the Global Green Energy and Photovoltaic Finance Summit. In addition, this year's SNEC also launched the "Global Top 100 ESG List for New Energy" for the first time. The core of these measures is to truly integrate the ESG concept into the daily operations of enterprises, rather than just remaining at the brand - marketing level.
The reason is that after years of rapid development, clean energy including photovoltaics and wind power has had an increasingly profound impact on society, which has led all stakeholders to put forward higher expectations and requirements for the clean - energy industry.
Firstly, governments and regulatory agencies around the world have become increasingly strict in their requirements for ESG information disclosure by enterprises. Currently, China has also started to require listed companies within the specified scope to mandatorily disclose ESG reports. Secondly, ESG performance has become a key factor affecting enterprises' financing costs and investors' decisions. More and more financial institutions have incorporated ESG factors into their credit approval and investment analysis frameworks. Thirdly, many multinational companies use ESG performance as a hard - and - fast criterion for selecting suppliers. Good ESG performance is an important means to gain the trust of international customers, integrate into the global supply chain, and deal with trade barriers.
Of course, implementing the ESG concept in business operations is not just a cost item for the clean - energy industry. ESG is an evaluation system covering multiple dimensions such as corporate governance, organizational structure, employee relations, and product quality, and these indicators will all affect a company's endogenous growth ability.
During this year's exhibition, Chint specifically gave a presentation on the group's ESG strategy, and its subsidiary, Chint Smart Energy, officially released an ESG report, demonstrating the company's latest exploration in the sustainable development strategy. In recent years, Chint has attached great importance to the practice of ESG in its operations. Chint New Energy has put forward the concept of "beautiful wind and light", carrying out ecological restoration on tidal flat reclamation areas, mud disposal sites, saline - alkali lands, deserts, barren mountains, abandoned mines, tidal flats, and reservoirs, and developing photovoltaic, wind power, and energy - storage projects according to local conditions. Among them, the company's practices in agriculture - photovoltaics, desert - photovoltaics, fishing - photovoltaics, and animal - husbandry - photovoltaics have applied the ESG concept, which has also created a new profit model for the company's photovoltaic power plant business. In addition, in the newly launched wind - power business field, Chint New Energy adheres to the principle of "high power generation, high availability, and low cost per kilowatt - hour", and has built several wind - power benchmark demonstration projects in Jilin, Shaanxi, Gansu, and other provinces and cities, effectively promoting the green and high - quality development of the local economy.
04. The industry moves towards a new paradigm
Generally speaking, the three trends demonstrated at this SNEC exhibition do not exist independently but are in a state of interweaving and synergistic driving.
Specifically, the integration of photovoltaics and energy storage is the cornerstone of building a new - type power system, the transformation of operators into comprehensive service providers is the driving force for promoting the construction of a new - type power system, and ESG is the guarantee for maintaining the sustainable operation of the entire system. Together, they constitute a new paradigm for the future development of the new - energy industry.
This also clearly shows that the Chinese new - energy industry is bidding farewell to the previous stage of extensive expansion and entering a new development stage driven by technological innovation, centered on user value, and guided by the principle of sustainable development.