China s air energy storage power generation

How can compressed air energy storage improve the stability of China's power grid?

The intermittent nature of renewable energy poses challenges to the stability of the existing power grid. Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) that stores energy in the form of high-pressure air has the potential to deal with the unstable supply of renewable energy at large scale in China.

Which country has made breakthroughs on compressed air energy storage?

[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] China has made breakthroughs on compressed air energy storage, as the world's largest of such power station has achieved its first grid connection and power generation in China's Shandong province.

What is the largest compressed air energy storage power station in the world?

The power station, with a 300MW system, is claimed to be the largest compressed air energy storage power station in the world, with highest efficiency and lowest unit cost as well.

How efficient is China's new compressed air plant?

According to China Energy Storage Alliance, the new plant can store and release up to 400 MWh, at a system design efficiency of 70.4%. That's huge; current compressed air systems are only around 40-52% efficient, and even the two larger Hydrostor CAES plants scheduled to open in California in 2026 are only reported to be around 60% efficient.

Is China ready to commercialize energy storage?

China is currently in the early stage of commercializing energy storage. As of 2017, the cumulative installed capacity of energy storage in China was 28.9 GW , accounting for only 1.6% of the total power generating capacity (1777 GW ), which is still far below the goal set by the State Grid of China (i.e., 4%–5% by 2020) .

What is compressed air energy storage?

Compressed air energy storage is derived from gas turbine technology, and the concept of using compressed air to store electric energy dates back to the 1940s . The principle of a traditional CAES plant is described as follows (Fig. 1 a).