The energy-saving priority policy is an important discourse proposed by Liu Zhenya of State Grid Corporation of China in "China Power and Energy". The book 'China Electricity and Energy' provides an in-depth explanation of this strategic policy from various perspectives of energy and electricity. As one of the most important entities in the implementation of China's energy strategy, how to implement the energy-saving priority policy is a top priority for the power grid company. This article will take the selection of copper and aluminum alloy cables from the perspective of power transmission as a practical scenario, understand the impact of different choices made by power grid companies in implementing energy-saving priority policies on the implementation of energy-saving priority policies, and thus see the different ideological methods and paths for implementing energy-saving priority policies.

1. The proposal and significance of the energy-saving priority policy

The current situation of energy conservation in our country is still severe, with a tendency to focus on development over conservation, speed over efficiency. The operability of energy-saving laws and regulations needs to be improved, and a new energy-saving mechanism that adapts to the market economy system has not yet been established. The development and promotion of energy-saving technologies are insufficient. It is necessary to further clarify the priority of energy conservation and increase efforts in energy conservation.

The important idea of the energy-saving priority strategy is to "adhere to the principle of both development and conservation in energy development, prioritize conservation, and integrate conservation throughout the entire process of energy development, production, transportation, and use. This is one of the core tasks of the national energy strategy.

2. Eliminating outdated production capacity is one of the key focuses of the energy-saving priority strategy

Eliminating outdated production capacity plays an important role in reducing energy consumption in the industrial sector. The unit energy consumption targets for some high energy consuming products in China in 2020 are as follows:

Aluminum, as a high energy consuming metal material, has been striving to reach a level of 9.22 tons by 2020, which is more than twice the unit energy consumption compared to copper. Under the guidance of the energy-saving priority policy, the product selection should undoubtedly be to choose low-energy cables such as copper instead of aluminum alloy products. Considering that cables are a widely used product by power grid companies, their impact on the total energy consumption of society must be carefully considered.

3. Application of copper and aluminum alloy cables from the perspective of energy technology innovation in the energy-saving priority strategy

Technological innovation is the fundamental measure to address the energy challenges and crises faced by human development. The true core technology cannot be bought, and some technologies have nowhere to buy. Only by relying on our own strength and independent innovation can we achieve breakthroughs. Without mastering intellectual property rights and relying solely on simple imitation and technology introduction to develop the energy industry, China's energy industry is large but not strong, and the situation where core technology is subject to others can never be changed

The key technological fields that energy transmission should focus on breakthroughs in are safe and secure transmission technologies, including large-scale AC/DC hybrid power grid operation control technology, smart grid technology, real-time measurement technology, fully digital real-time simulation technology, superconducting power technology, large-scale power grid safety guarantee technology, complete sets of ultra-high voltage transmission and transformation equipment, power grid safety protection equipment, and research on renewable energy grid connected group control equipment.

　　Aluminum alloy cableTechnology is a technology developed decades ago in the United States. At present, it has not developed and expanded in the United States, nor is it a high-tech and energy-saving technology that continues to be researched and developed in the United States. There is no progressiveness in the field of power transmission, and the core technology is also in the hands of American companies. This low-level introduction and digestion is a huge waste of research and development resources of power companies and a huge loss of real technology investment, which does not conform to the development direction of advanced technology and energy-saving technology in the field of cable transmission.

4. The goal of the energy-saving priority strategy is to build a strong smart grid

The concept of "strong smart grid" is the core of State Grid Corporation of China's implementation of various energy strategies, and it has been highly recognized by society. Adam Chalkhming, Chairman of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (IEEE) Standardization Association, has clearly stated that "China is already in a position in the field of smart grid".

For such a network that plays a core role in China's energy transmission, any materials that increase its uncertainty, energy consumption level, and risk must be resolutely avoided. At present, from the perspective of cables, China's power grid is basically a binary structure of copper cables and aluminum cables. If it develops into a ternary structure of copper, aluminum, and aluminum alloy, its strength and adaptability to intelligence will be reduced to varying degrees rather than enhanced. This is a foreseeable scenario.

The introduction of aluminum alloy cables into the transmission field of power grid companies, which has not been fully demonstrated from the strategic perspective of power grid companies, is a measure that will affect the quality of China's power transmission network for decades. It is not only blind, but also a hedge against the strong smart grid strategy, and should be highly valued at the strategic level of power grid companies.

5. The energy-saving priority strategy requires the development of power grid construction towards clean energy

In the context of a significant increase in clean energy in the future, power grid companies need to understand that copper cables are the preferred material for clean energy. New energy sources such as wind and solar power have randomness and intermittency characteristics, and their controllability and predictability are lower than traditional petrochemical energy generation. This poses a huge challenge to the control and coordination capabilities of the power grid, and urgently requires the use of advanced automation technology, coordinated control technology, energy storage technology, accurate prediction and control technology, etc. These technological fields are undoubtedly the focus of research and development in the field of power transmission and control, and the addition of aluminum alloy cables can only further increase the uncertainty in the power grid transmission process, increase control costs and difficulties, and is not conducive to the control and economical use of new energy. In this regard, China should make great efforts to develop special application areas for copper cables, rather than wasting too much research and development resources on replacing copper cables with aluminum alloy cables.

6. Energy conservation priority strategy, advocating for sustainable energy development

Sustainable energy development can be measured by four indicators: domestic resource support capacity, environmental carrying capacity, energy system security, and foreign resource acquisition capacity. Based on these four indicators, the sustainability of copper resources in China is far higher than that of aluminum. The reserve production ratio of aluminum mines in China is only 6-7 years, the reserve production ratio of China Petroleum is 10 years, and the reserve production ratio of copper is 16-17 years. China's industrial capacity has exceeded the environmentally acceptable range, and aluminum is a severely surplus and high energy consuming industry. Research from the National Key Laboratory of Environmental Protection and Ecological Industry, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University shows that since 1990, China's primary aluminum production has grown at an average annual rate of 12%, and surpassed the United States to become the largest producer of primary aluminum in 2005. The aluminum industry is an energy intensive industry, and the energy consumption required to produce 1 ton of aluminum is about 4.5 times that of producing 1 ton of steel, and the CO2 emissions are 7-9 times that of steel. In 2005, the energy consumption of electrolytic aluminum and alumina production accounted for 69% of the total energy consumption of non-ferrous metals in China. At present, aluminum alloy cables are a large-scale expansion activity of the high energy consuming aluminum industry in the field of cable transmission. The development direction represented by the increase in energy consumption, pollution, and environmental carrying capacity is contrary to the energy-saving priority policy.

From the perspective of system security, the addition of aluminum alloy cables to the power transmission system, especially under the condition of inadequate joint terminal technology, as well as the lack of standards, weak quality control management systems for on-site construction personnel, personnel training, and other factors, will inevitably lead to increased insecurity and uncertainty in the power transmission system if aluminum alloy cables are introduced on a large scale.

In addition, from the perspective of acquiring foreign resources, the copper industry's ability to acquire foreign resources is much higher than China's ability to expand its aluminum resources overseas. According to statistics, by the end of 2015, Chinese enterprises had an overseas equity mine copper production capacity of 870000 tons; The copper smelting capacity is 450000 tons. The copper production capacity of the mine under construction exceeds 1 million tons and will be completed and put into operation in 2016 and 2017. China's investment activities in copper mining projects overseas not only enhance its ability to safeguard China's copper resources and provide good returns to investment enterprises, but also greatly improve China's ability to allocate important resources and enhance the influence and discourse power of Chinese enterprises in the market.

At the same time, the dependence of aluminum on overseas markets has gradually increased, and by the end of 2013, China's imported aluminum ore had reached 43% of the total demand. The supply gap of bauxite is predicted to reach 60-70% by 2020, and the dependence on the world market will further increase. Overexploitation of bauxite in China has led to a rapid decrease in storage capacity. For this resource situation, the power grid company should not rashly adopt the aluminum alloy cable technology route, as it bears the social responsibility of prioritizing energy conservation. Every step forward in the development of a strong smart grid should be carefully considered and a visionary strategy formulated under the priority of energy conservation.