Jiangsu’s First Incremental Distribution Network Virtual Power Plant Commences Operations
On May 2, 2025, just before the Labor Day holiday, the Jiangsu Suqian Canal Port Distribution and Sale Power Company launched its virtual power plant at the Smart Source Service Center. The virtual power plant’s intelligent operation management system displayed real-time load curves, marking the official start of Jiangsu’s first incremental distribution network virtual power plant.
Since its launch in June 2023, the center has aggregated 26 megawatts of distributed photovoltaic energy and 105 kilowatts/210 kilowatt-hours of energy storage, along with a controllable load of 145 megawatts, establishing an integrated virtual power plant platform that combines source, network, load, and storage.
The Jiangsu Suqian Canal Port Distribution and Sale Power Company is a joint venture established by the State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Company and Suqian Huinong Industrial Development Co., Ltd. It is one of the first national pilot units for the reform of incremental distribution business. As Jiangsu’s first registered virtual power plant built by an incremental distribution network company, its creation responds to urgent practical needs. By the end of 2024, the total installed wind and photovoltaic power generation capacity in Jiangsu reached 84.862 million kilowatts, an increase of 52.551 million kilowatts compared to the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan. According to the State Grid Suqian Power Supply Company, the average annual growth rate of local new energy installations has reached 28% over the past three years. The traditional “large units + grid” model struggles to accommodate the intermittency and unpredictability of these energy sources, necessitating flexible adjustment resources to mitigate fluctuations.
Currently, users connected to the Suqian Canal Port Distribution and Sale Power Company virtual power plant can benefit from peak shaving and valley filling, as well as demand response strategies. They can log into the virtual power plant’s intelligent operation management system to monitor load conditions in real-time, ensuring stable operation of electrical equipment.
After connecting to the virtual power plant, several energy storage projects in Suqian can now monitor load and energy storage device statuses in real-time, accurately adjust grid voltage and frequency, enhance power quality, and ensure stable operation of electrical equipment, raising the reliability of power supply to 99.999%.
As of now, the virtual power plant has integrated with a new type of power load management system and has undergone capacity testing by the Suqian Power Load Management Center. It has aggregated 203 users and 232 resources, guiding 189 industrial enterprises to participate in demand-side management, with 20 enterprises engaged in ancillary services, according to Hou Xiaobing, a level-four staff member at the marketing department of State Grid Suqian Power Supply Company.
Moving forward, the virtual power plant plans to further expand its resources and engage with more participants. It will also organize involvement in provincial spot trading, ancillary services, and demand response activities, contributing to local power supply stability and renewable energy integration, while promoting the synergistic development of the green economy and energy systems.
Original article by NenPower, If reposted, please credit the source: https://nenpower.com/blog/jiangsu-launches-its-first-incremental-distribution-virtual-power-plant/
