What is the relationship between polysilicon and emission reduction? ? ? ?
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Let’s first take a look at some data to compare the energy consumption associated with fossil fuels, the most commonly used traditional energy source today. From the perspective of domestic consumption in China, oil used for transportation accounts for approximately 70% of the country’s total annual crude oil consumption. However, considering the fuel cost per 100 kilometers for gasoline vehicles, it is about four to five times higher than the electricity cost per 100 kilometers for electric vehicles. Therefore, based on the equivalent energy output of gasoline vehicles and electric vehicles, at the current consumption level, the operating cost of electric vehicles is only 1/4 to 1/5 that of gasoline vehicles. Over the past two years, the average world crude oil price has been around $50 per barrel. Based on this calculation, the electricity cost for an equivalent amount of energy is approximately 10 dollars, compared to the cost of crude oil. Thanks to the rapid advancement of photovoltaic power generation technology in China over the past decade or so, various costs have dropped significantly, and photovoltaic power generation is now essentially on par with conventional electricity sources in terms of cost. Based on the affordable feed-in tariff, it can be said that the cost of photovoltaic power generation has actually dropped to around $10 per barrel of crude oil, and the entire process of photovoltaic power generation involves zero pollution and zero emissions. Thanks to the rapid development of the photovoltaic industry in recent years, China now has a photovoltaic power generation capacity of around 200 GW. The electricity generated each year is equivalent to the energy produced by 100 million tons of fuel. Currently, consuming 100 million tons of fuel results in approximately 350 million tons of carbon emissions. Looking at the entire photovoltaic industry chain, producing photovoltaic systems capable of generating 200 GW of power requires approximately 600,000 tons of high-purity crystalline silicon. According to estimates, the 200,000-ton high-purity crystalline silicon project that Yongxiang Co., Ltd., a leading enterprise in the photovoltaic industry in terms of high-purity crystalline silicon production, plans to build, is expected to generate 3.5 million tons of carbon emissions per year once it is fully operational. It can be inferred that producing 600,000 tons of high-purity crystalline silicon will result in 10.5 million tons of carbon emissions. However, with Yongxiang’s 200,000-ton high-purity silicon production project, the high-purity silicon produced can, when used in photovoltaic power generation systems, help reduce carbon emissions by up to 350 million tons per year through solar power generation. Compared to the 10.5 million tons of carbon emissions required for production, the amount of carbon emissions saved is 33 times that amount! This means that once Yongxiang’s 200,000-ton high-purity silicon project is fully operational, the high-purity silicon it produces can help reduce carbon emissions by 117 million tons per year once it is used in photovoltaic power generation systems. It can be said that the 3.5 million tons of carbon emissions generated by its own production of high-purity silicon can be completely \"offset\" within about 10 days after the photovoltaic system starts generating electricity. Currently, photovoltaic power generation systems can operate stably to produce electricity for over 25 years. This shows the significant contribution that companies such as Yongxiang Shares, which produce high-purity crystalline silicon, can make to achieving the world’s ambitious goal of carbon neutrality in the future. Furthermore, in terms of energy input and output, producing 1 kg of high-purity crystalline silicon requires approximately 50 kWh of electricity. The processes of drawing silicon rods and slicing them consume 20–30 kWh, while the production of batteries, photovoltaic glass, as well as various aluminum alloy materials requires around 20 kWh in total. Overall, it takes about 100 kWh of electricity to produce 1 kg of high-purity crystalline silicon and use it in photovoltaic systems. Currently, 1 kW of photovoltaic system can be manufactured from every 3 kg of high-purity crystalline silicon, which means that approximately 300 kWh of electricity is required for the entire production process of 1 kW of such systems. A 1kw system can generate approximately 1500kwh of electricity per year, which means that the energy consumed in the entire process of manufacturing the photovoltaic system can be fully recovered within about half a year after the photovoltaic power plant starts generating electricity. There was a time when it was said that polysilicon belonged to the category of energy-intensive industries; the production of polysilicon once required 300 kilowatt-hours per kilogram, but this figure has now dropped to 50–60 kilowatt-hours. The process of drawing and slicing rods also requires 20–30 kilowatt-hours, while the manufacturing of glass and aluminum alloy battery components consumes around 20 kilowatt-hours as well. However, the system corresponding to those three kilograms of polysilicon consumes 300 kilowatt-hours of electricity in total, and it takes approximately 4 to 6 months after its installation for all the energy used throughout the entire process – from sand to industrial silicon, to polysilicon, to monocrystalline silicon, and then to batteries and modules – to be fully recovered. The designed system life for photovoltaic power generation systems is 25 years; in suitable locations, they can operate for 30 to 50 years. It is one of the industries with the highest energy consumption and input-output ratio in human history. On the path to carbon peak and carbon neutrality, it is necessary to reduce energy consumption and emissions as well as control energy use. Upon analysis, in terms of energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions in the photovoltaic industry, for every ton of carbon dioxide emitted by a photovoltaic power generation system, 30 to 50 tons of carbon dioxide emissions can be saved and reduced over the course of one year. These figures are truly spectacular.
From the perspective of energy strategic security, in 2019 China imported 506 million tons of crude oil, resulting in foreign exchange expenditures of $241.3 billion; that year, crude oil became the commodity that required the most foreign exchange in terms of net consumption. In 2020, crude oil imports continued to rise to 542 million tons, and the dependence on foreign crude oil imports reached a record high of 73.5%. Back then, due to falling oil prices, foreign exchange expenditures decreased, but they still amounted to around $190 billion. In 2021, as oil prices rose, imports of crude oil are expected to exceed $300 billion! About 80% of the crude oil imported into our country has to pass through the Strait of Malacca, **which poses significant risks to energy security and foreign exchange reserves. At present, Sino-US relations are not optimistic. Biden **described China as “the biggest competitor” and made great efforts to bring allies together to impose containment. Should the conflict escalate and our country’s maritime trade routes be blocked, our domestic energy supply, economic development, and people’s livelihoods will face severe challenges. From the perspective of ensuring **energy and foreign exchange security, our country is fully capable of achieving a renewable and clean alternative for 70% of the new energy generated and 30% to 50% of the existing energy supply over a period of 10 to 20 years, thereby keeping control of its energy supply in its own hands. Solve once and for all the problem of potential disruptions in crude oil imports. If **strategic needs dictate it, the pace of development can be accelerated further, with this energy substitution goal to be achieved within about 10 years. Therefore, considering various factors such as cost-effectiveness, carbon emission reduction, the input-output ratio of energy, and the maintenance of **energy and foreign exchange security, renewable energy sources represented by photovoltaic power currently meet all the conditions necessary for large-scale deployment as a substitute for fossil fuels. They have thus become the key force in helping to achieve the dual-carbon goals and driving the transformation and upgrading of the global energy sector.
Achieve this energy substitution goal within about 10 years
It is now a direction that cannot be reversed
On the path to carbon peak and carbon neutrality, it is necessary to reduce energy consumption and emissions as well as control energy use. Upon analysis, in terms of energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions in the photovoltaic industry, for every ton of carbon dioxide emitted by a photovoltaic power generation system, 30 to 50 tons of carbon dioxide emissions can be saved and reduced over the course of one year. These figures are truly spectacular.
Discussions should be conducted in this way, using data as evidence and actual performance as the outcome. Recalling what Academician Ding Zhongli said in response to Chai Jing, it can be seen that Europe and the United States are merely making empty promises when it comes to actions aimed at carbon neutrality and emission reduction; it now appears that this prediction has come true. Such large-scale use of new technologies for power generation and energy storage is only feasible in large countries with a diversified industrial base; some small European countries can only follow along and mimic such practices – they are not capable of doing it on a serious scale. As soon as Russia stopped supplying natural gas, their true capabilities became apparent.