While China's renewable energy sector presents vast potential, the blistering pace of plant installation is not matched with their usage capacity, leading more and more clean energy to be wasted. Some provinces in the northwest region with rich wind and solar resources generally have an oversupply of electricity. In the long run, energy storage will play an increasingly important role in China's renewable sector. The 14th FYP for Energy Storage advocates for new technology. In a joint statement posted in May, the NDRC and the NEA established their intentions to realize full the market-oriented development of new (non-hydro) energy. A critical part of the comprehensive power market reform, energy storage is an important tool to ensure the safe supply of energy and achieve green and low-carbon.
Is China's energy storage sector growing?
According to the report, China's energy storage sector has maintained a rapid growth momentum from 2023, with new energy storage capacity expanding from 8.7 million kilowatts in 2022 to 31.39 million kW last year. On the other hand, new energy storage plants in China are increasingly shifting toward centralized, large-scale installations, it said.
Where does China's storage capacity come from?
The majority of China's storage capacity comes from large-scale storage projects, such as hydropower with reservoirs on the Yangtze River and gigawatt-level battery energy storage systems in Inner Mongolia. Arial view of the Three Gorges Dam in Hubei province, China. Credit: Sipa US / Alamy Stock Photo
Why is China a leader in energy storage technology?
Li added that China's dominance in energy storage technology, particularly in battery cell production, places it in a leading position to shape global storage standards. At the end of the first half, power storage capacity in China surpassed 100 GW, reaching 103.3 GW, a 47 percent year-on-year increase.
How big is China's energy storage capacity?
The country has already surpassed this initial goal, two years ahead of schedule. According to China's National Energy Administration, the country's overall capacity in the new-type energy storage sector reached 31.4 GW by the end of 2023. It increased capacity year-on-year by more than 260%, and almost 10 times since 2020.
How has China impacted the energy sector?
In this Q&A, Carbon Brief explores how China has been driving the sector forwards and how it fits into the nation's wider energy transition. China is currently the world's largest market for energy storage, followed by the US and Europe, according to BloombergNEF.
Why is energy storage important in China?
Developing energy storage is an important step in China's transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, while mitigating the effect of new energy's randomness, volatility and intermittence on the grid and managing power supply and demand, he said.