Does China's energy storage technology improve economic performance?

Energy storage technology is a crucial means of addressing the increasing demand for flexibility and renewable energy consumption capacity in power systems. This article evaluates the economic performance of China's energy storage technology in the present and near future by analyzing technical and economic data using the levelized cost method.

How big is China's energy storage capacity?

According to incomplete statistics from CNESA DataLink Global Energy Storage Database, by the end of June 2023, the cumulative installed capacity of electrical energy storage projects commissioned in China was 70.2GW, with a year-on-year increase of 44%.

Why is energy storage important in China?

Energy storage is developing rapidly with the advantages of high flexibility, fast response time, and ample room for technological progress. China encourages energy storage to provide auxiliary power services to meet the needs of new power systems.

How important is battery energy storage in China?

In the context of energy storage systems deployed in China, battery energy storage remains indispensable in the hour-level energy storage scenario, particularly for durations between 1 and 6 h, although its advantages may decrease with increasing energy storage duration.

Should China invest in energy storage technology?

Subsidies of at least 0.169 yuan/kWh to trigger energy storage technology investment. Energy storage technology is one of the critical supporting technologies to achieve carbon neutrality target. However, the investment in energy storage technology in China faces policy and other uncertain factors.

How many new energy storage projects are commissioned in China?

Figure 2: Cumulative installed capacity of new energy storage projects commissioned in China (as of the end of June 2023) In the first half of 2023, China's new energy storage continued to develop at a high speed, with 850 projects (including planning, under construction and commissioned projects), more than twice that of the same period last year.