OREANDA-NEWS.  May 15, 2013. IEC announced to approve the establishment of Technical Committee (TC) 120: Electrical Energy Storage (EES) Systems initiated by SGCC after a vote of all IEC members.

It’s the third approved IEC TC initiated by SGCC after TC 115-High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission for DC voltages above 100 kV and PC118-Smart Grid User Interface. It’s another breakthrough for China in the participation of international standardization.

In July 2010, SGCC EVP, IEC Vice President and the MSB Convenor Shu Yinbiao initiated the project of White Paper "Grid Integration of Large-capacity Renewable Energy Sources and Use of Large-capacity Electrical Energy Storage". The Paper, published in October 2012, aimed to provide a global and comprehensive view on the state of the current and future directions for grid integration of large-capacity RE sources, such as wind power and solar power. It analyzed the adaptability for current standards and their future development plans, and provided guidance and reference to IEC and its global partners.

During compiling the White Paper, SGCC realized the possibility of establishing a new TC in this area and organized experts from China Electric Power Research Institute to work out the proposal. After thorough communication with foreign experts, SGCC submitted the repeatedly amended proposal to IEC in November 2012. 60 IEC members started voting on December 21, 2012 and finished the procedure on March 22, 2013.

Meanwhile, SGCC actively communicated with other country committees of IEC and brought its overseas offices into full play. The initiative was approved with 79% votes in favor.

TC 120 will oversee the development of International Standards that address RE integration technologies. It will apply technical terms, definitions, resource assessment of large-capacity RE integration, as well as power prediction, technological requirement for integration, plan, design, integration test and appraisal, operation and maintenance, system control, safety security,

The TC will play a significant role in ensuring safe integration of large-capacity RE resources and stimulating RE development in the future.

SGCC is now preparing for the set-up of the new TC secretariat and the follow-up work with the leadership of SMB.