Renewable energy source heat pump development direction quietly change

China's ground-source heat pump industry has experienced rapid development and is now experiencing the "cold stream" of thinking. In the convective impact that the gratifying situation and regulatory mechanisms are not yet perfect, in the face of state subsidies, and in the face of mixed heat pump market and chaotic competition, how the relevant functional departments perform their duties, resist performance and fiscal temptation, and adhere to the principle of seeking truth from facts are the people of the industry. The focus of silent attention...

It has to be admitted that the ground-source heat pump industry in China has experienced rapid development and is now experiencing the "cold stream" of thinking. Faced with the vague pain in reality, from the government to the industry to the enterprise, every molecule needs to rethink and position itself. Delineating the source of a good future for the heat pump industry requires a concerted effort, and it requires a scientific and realistic attitude of all parties.

Although the idea has been gradually reformed, experts have strongly advocated the “high-speed development of ground source heat pumps”, but under the influence of political worship and political constraints, many places have been forced to submit and follow the established routes without hesitation for a long time.

As the city with the largest area of ​​ground source heat pump applications, Shenyang's development model has so far been highly recommended on official occasions. But behind the awards, Shenyang’s challenge has never been reduced in the informal and small-scale discussions in the industry.

An expert who did not wish to be named revealed that as early as in 2009, there had been problems here. “Shenyang’s minimum temperature has been around minus 20 degrees Celsius, but it broke through that year. Later, there was a problem with heating in the community. After investigation, the problem was caused by the ground source heat pump system. The people’s petitions therefore have a great impact,” he said. The winter is particularly long and I was very impressed."

This matter touched Shenyang a lot. According to the expert, two years later, Shenyang almost passed all of its ground-source heat pump projects.

This is by no means a single case. Behind the heat of the ground-source heat pump industry, negative news has been continuously exposed in the eyes of local governments. Some managers gradually realized that the ground source heat pump would not work. "It will happen sooner or later." With a lesson from the past, the ground source heat pump industry in the country began to reflect on the enthusiasm slowly cooling.

In fact, as the frontline body, development, survey, design, construction, and other units are obviously prophetic. However, the high level of information asymmetry has caused government agencies to lose the best time to cure diseases in the ground source heat pump industry. It is also the "benefits" of the government's regulatory loopholes. A large number of guerrilla forces arbitrarily erode the morbid market and accelerate the expected deviation.

"Management is not in place, and the merits and demerits of the company are my impressions of some management departments during this period." said Zhang Dezheng, secretary general of the Geothermal Mineral Water Special Committee of the Mining Association of Henan Province.

The government turned to be the driving force behind the advancement of the ground-source heat pump business. Some local governments in the last two years have been deliberately releasing the "accelerator" and the sensitive market has been quietly changing.

The set of figures to be corroborated is: At present, the ground-source heat pump application area in Beijing is close to 30 million square meters, while Shenyang is over 50 million square meters. As the top two in the national application scale, they began to show their distance with their own expectations.

“Beijing was initially expected to reach 35 million square meters, but it is now less. In a sense, I think it is a prudent and pragmatic outcome of the locality,” said Zheng Kezheng, head of the Geothermal Heat Pump Professional Committee of the Beijing New Energy and Renewable Energy Association. This argument has been recognized by some experts. They believe that "the deceleration of Shenyang is nothing less than this."

“Especially for large-scale ground-source heat pump projects, Shenyang now has stricter and more cautious procedures for approval and adheres to the basic principles of design responsibility and rational use,” said Liang Yunfa, deputy director of the Shenyang Office of Ground-Source Heat Pumps. “For groundwater-source heat pump projects, We have also adopted a remote monitoring system. Effective measures can ensure that the ground-source heat pump development in Shenyang is on track."

Jing Shen slowed down and sounded alarm bells for other cities. From the management level, this scientific attitude is not only reflected in the strict control of the application area and approval procedures, but also the selection of the type of ground source heat pump application.

In the industry's view, the debate over groundwater source heat pump systems is undoubtedly the most fierce. Including Shenyang, many provinces and cities have now explicitly listed this type as the key regulatory object, and the support policy has obviously tightened. This is largely due to the true feedback of the market. Local governments adjust their plans accordingly—or plan ahead, or make up for them.

In Jiangsu, local finance will allocate 200 million yuan of special funds to support the construction of renewable energy projects within three years, but the threshold has changed. Zhang Jianzhong, vice chairman of the Jiangsu Society of Refrigeration, said that the Department of Water Resources, Price Bureaus, and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of the province issued the "Administrative Measures for Water Source Licenses and Water Resource Collection for Ground Source Heat Pump Systems in Jiangsu Province" to require the scientific development of ground source heat pumps. Projects to prevent irrational use. The document specifically mentioned that, given the protection of groundwater resources, the local government will give priority to the development of ground-buried projects. The reporter found that the groundwater source heat pump system was put under harsh conditions. According to him, the former has obviously accelerated development.

Take Kaifeng in Henan as an example. In May this year, the city promulgated the temporary management method of groundwater source heat pump, requiring that the ratio of wells withdrawn from such projects should reach 1:4, and the rate of re-infusion should be above 98%. Kaifeng, which is relatively rich in water resources, has also set up an inspection team to strictly regulate the market order.

Zhang Dejun believes that adjusting the type of ground source heat pump development seems to be an inevitable trend in the industry.

The existence of hidden concerns cannot be questioned. Even if the development of ground-source heat pumps has slowed down, it still rushes toward the future at high speed.

The State Council’s former counselor and director of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and Environmental Engineering Technology Center, Wang Bingjun, said that the total area of ​​ground-source heat pump utilization in China has exceeded 140 million square meters, and statistical agencies have even given a conclusion of 160 million square meters; 31 provinces, More than 3,400 ground-source heat pump projects have been launched in autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, of which 80% are concentrated in the northern provinces of Beijing, Tianjin, Shandong, Liaoning, and Liaoning.

“After the national renewable energy demonstration projects and demonstration cities have achieved success, the promotion of renewable energy projects in small cities and towns will inevitably lead the new geothermal heat pump industry into a new round of climax, which is encouraging.” Wang Bingjun said, “New things are facing Difficulties are certain, but market growth will remain high."

Experts generally agree with this judgment. It is understood that the current annual growth rate of ground-source heat pump applications in the United States is 14%, and even as high as 30% in China. They said that as the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" slowly opens, the ground source heat pump industry will start again; the design institute will be the protagonist, and the groundwater source heat pump system will still dominate.

And this just makes experts worry. In the convective impact that the gratifying situation and regulatory mechanisms are not yet perfect, in the face of state subsidies, and in the face of mixed heat pump market and chaotic competition, how the relevant functional departments perform their duties, resist performance and fiscal temptation, and adhere to the principle of seeking truth from facts are the people of the industry. The focus of silent attention.

“There is a terrible saying in the industry that some projects are simply “defrauding.” Reported materials claim that the system energy efficiency value can reach 3 to 4 or even higher, and the actual operating conditions are often not even reached 2. I have been to a dozen The company claims to have a wide variety of patents for reinjection, but how much can it truly be completely recharged? Although it is a legend, I think this must exist.” Sun Dexing, a professor at the Harbin Institute of Technology’s School of Municipal and Environment, bluntly Undoubtedly, "If you want to do a good job in ground-source heat pump business, every link must be carefully planned and preoccupied, and you absolutely cannot tolerate it."

Some experts expressed their views more clearly: “Government departments are now good at 'penalizing administration', which is a very irresponsible management routine. After the punishment, how to solve the problem, how to explain to the users, to the people and even to the environment, No one asked.” He believes that this green technology can be highly supported by the country. There is no reason not to do a good job, but the change in management thinking is a top priority.