KATOWICE, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- The combination of photovoltaics (PV) and energy storage will become the ultimate energy solution for mankind, said Li Zhenguo, president of LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd, a world-leading manufacturer of monocrystalline silicon PV products.
Li made the remarks on Tuesday at a sideline event during the 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Katowice, Poland. Dolf Gielen, Director of the Innovation and Technology Center of the IRENA, Li Junfeng, First Director and Chairman of Academic Committee of National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation (NCSC), Woochong Um, Direct-General of Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department, Asian Development Bank, Lo Szeping, CEO of WWF China, Rana Adib, Executive Secretary of Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century, Claude Nahon, Senior Vice President for Sustainable Development of EDF, Jaroslaw Ponder, Head of the ITU Office for Europe and so on also attended the conference.
“The most effective way to get global warming under control is to install a power system entirely based on renewable energy,” said Li, predicting that PV will be the cheapest power source in most parts of the world in the next two or three years, due to the rapid development of PV technologies and the continuous fall in production costs.
He added that electricity storage can help offset solar fluctuations, making the combination of PV and energy storage the major energy solution within ten years. “Energy storage technologies such as pumped hydroelectric storage (PHS), chemical energy storage, and electric vehicle-to-grid energy storage have been advancing rapidly. In addition, power will be better shared as a result of the global energy internet.”
In an effort to create the least carbon footprint, LONGi solar is using hydropower to produce monocrystalline silicon ingots and wafers in its bases in Yunnan Province of China and Kuching of Malaysia where such kind of clean energy is abundant.
Speaking of the future plan, Li said LONGi solar will implement the “solar for solar” strategy, a business mode to power PV production entirely by solar energy. The company plans to build PV and PHS power plants in coastal areas with abundant sunlight and topographic drop to supply electricity for its solar product plants.
The sideline event was held to call for international cooperation in promoting the use of clean energy to tackle climate change.