In 2021 China began an ambitious plan to build 800 large-scale energy storage stations and this will require an investment of US$830 million. It is expected that all these facilities will be completed and put into use by 2030.
WHY IS THIS NECESSARY?
The consumption of electricity is not constant, but varies with time of day, season and weather etc. If the demand for electricity is lower there is a chance that the surplus electricity generated may be wasted. Conversely, when demand is high a large amount of additional electricity will be needed, there is a chance the power supply cannot generate enough electricity. Both of these scenarios can be an issue with solar and wind energy, where it is not always practicable to match output and consumption in real time. Such an issue can also result in instabilities in the power grid.
These are the times we need a “power bank” that can store excess power and we can draw down on this temporarily when needed.
These Chinese energy storage facilities will have the capacity to store up to 380,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity in just two hours – enough to meet the daily electricity needs of approximately 50,000 households. The 800 energy storage plants will be able to provide stable power supply to 40 million people.
- Another highly efficient form of energy storage is pumped hydro. China’s construction of pumped hydro storage capacity increased dramatically in 2023, with capacity under construction reaching 167GW, up from 120GW a year earlier. China’s investment in hydopower pumped storage in 2023 increased by 38% year on year to reach $47 billion USD.
See: https://china-environment-news.net/western-chinas-largest-pumped-hydro-project/
VIDEO source: https://youtu.be/MGzWsrl86IQ?t=114