Open-source IoT operating system for power facilities improves efficiency of energy use

China's first domestically developed Internet of Things (IoT) operating system for power facilities, built on open source, has significantly improved the efficiency of energy use by enabling intelligent interconnection and data sharing among various types of power equipment.

By offering a universal "language" across diverse types of power equipment, the open-source system facilitates interaction among all types of equipment connected within the system, including electric vehicles, charging stations, power storage units, intelligent power meters, and home appliances.

According to Xu Jian, general manager of China Southern Power Grid Digital Grid Technology (Guangdong) Co., Ltd., the information exchange between charging piles and the power grid can greatly lower access and maintenance expenses while enhancing electricity utilization efficiency.

For instance, users can conveniently opt to charge their vehicles during periods of low electricity prices using this system, Xu said.

To date, the system has attracted 350 manufacturers from relevant industrial chains to join it, with over 800 terminals having begun the adaptation process, he noted.

"Computing by the unified connection data standards, we estimate that costs have gone down by roughly 60 to 70 percent, while efficiency is now roughly five to 10 times higher," Xu said.

The convenient and cost-effective characteristics of open-source software have prompted emerging economies around the world to invest heavily in the development of open-source ecology.

According to a report by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, global open source software projects are growing steadily, with the total volume exceeding 400 million.

Among the top 100 open source software projects in terms of global activity, China's open source software projects account for 17 percent, ranking the second.

Open-source IoT operating system for power facilities improves efficiency of energy use

The construction of the main structure of the first phrase of the Bailong nuclear power plant has started in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, with the pouring of the first concrete for the nuclear island of Unit 1, the State Power Investment Corp (SPIC) said on Monday.

The nuclear power plant, located at the Jiangshan Peninsula in Fangchenggang of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is designed to house six one-million-kilowatt units with a total installed capacity of 8.62 million kilowatts. It represents an investment of 120 billion yuan (about 17 billion U.S. dollars).

The first phase of the nuclear power plant will employ domestically designed third-generation technology, with each unit having a capacity of 1.25 million kilowatts.

"Once the two units in the first phrase are put into operation, the plant will generate 20 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. This will cut standard coal consumption by around six million tons and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 16 million tons, with the carbon dioxide reduction equivalent to the planting of 44,000 hectares of broad-leaf forest," said Cai Hongtai, chief commander of the SPIC Bailong nuclear power plant project.

Construction of Bailong nuclear power plant's main structure begins