At a 300 MW compressed air energy storage station in Yingcheng, central China''s Hubei province, eight heat storage and exchange tanks are erected. Five hundred meters underground, abandoned salt caverns with over 1 million cubic meters of air storage space are undergoing gas injection and brine discharge testing. The project is expected to start full-capacity operation within this year.
Photo shows heat storage and exchange tanks of a 300 MW compressed air energy storage station in Yingcheng, central China''s Hubei province. (Photo/Zhao Xueming)
Though China''s installed capacity of new energy sources like wind and solar power continues to increase, they are relatively "unpredictable," and power supply can sometimes be excessive and at other times insufficient, with fluctuating frequencies. Energy storage is needed to act as a "green electricity manager" to balance the power grid''s supply and demand, Li explained.
During off-peak electricity hours, surplus power drives compressors to compress air into a high-pressure state. The compressor, similar to a bicycle pump, can push air into a "tire" - in this case, sealed air storage reservoirs like salt caverns or artificial chambers. The heat generated during air compression is stored in heat storage tanks on the ground in forms such as hot water or fused salt.
During peak electricity hours, the underground air storage releases the stored high-pressure air, while the heat storage tanks release the stored heat. At this point, the high-pressure air is heated, which gives it tremendous expansive force to drive air turbine generators. This process is similar to wind turning the blades of large wind turbines, generating electricity to supply the power grid.
Compressed air energy storage has features such as high power, long lifespan, deep peak regulation, and flexible site selection. A single unit can achieve storage capacities of hundreds of megawatts or even gigawatts, with a typical lifespan of over 30 years.
Currently, the construction period for such a power station is usually 18 to 24 months, with a unit construction cost of 6,000 yuan ($827.54) to 8,000 yuan per kilowatt. As economies of scale become apparent and engineering technology matures, construction costs are expected to further decrease.
A staff member adjusts the valves of the closed-loop cooling water system for the compressor at a compressed air energy storage station. (Photo/Ding Xiaowei)
In recent years, China''s compressed air energy storage technology has developed rapidly, with research achievements and engineering applications leading the world. From 500-kilowatt experimental installations to 10 MW demonstration projects, 60 MW commercial operations, grid connection of 300 MW units, and the completion of feasibility studies for the first 600 MW project, compressed air energy storage technology is gradually entering large-scale engineering applications. Meanwhile, system efficiency continues to improve, with many power stations reaching 65 percent to 70 percent.
Zhang Jian, vice president of China Electric Power Planning and Engineering Institute, said that from an industry chain perspective, compressed air energy storage mainly includes key components and equipment such as compressors, heat storage and exchange equipment, air storage facilities, and expanders. This is similar to thermal power and power equipment industries, with a high degree of independent control.
Currently, compressed air energy storage still has shortcomings such as relatively low energy storage per unit volume or mass, room for efficiency improvement, and relatively complex systems.
Zhang suggested that to promote large-scale industrial application of the technology, efforts are needed in technological innovation and efficiency improvement, reducing construction and maintenance costs, expanding application scenarios, policy support, and talent cultivation.
This year, China''s National Energy Administration officially released a list of 56 new energy storage pilot demonstration projects, 11 of which are compressed air energy storage projects.
"As the technology continues to improve and more projects are implemented, China''s compressed air energy storage industry is expected to embrace broader development prospects, providing strong support for building a clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient energy system," said Wan Mingzhong, chief expert of China Energy Engineering Corporation and chairman of China Energy Digital Technology Group Co., Ltd.
Zhongchu Guoneng Technology Co., Ltd. (ZCGN) has switched on the world’s largest compressed air energy storage project in China. The $207.8 million energy storage power station has a capacity of 300 MW/1,800 MWh and uses an underground salt cave.
The company said the storage plant is the world''s largest CAES system to date. Previously, the largest CAES facility was a 100 MW project switched on in October 2022 by the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, also in China''s Hebei province.
ZCGN said the new system consists of a multi-stage wide-load compressor and high-load turbine expander, as well as a high-efficiency supercritical heat exchanger technology and integrated control technology. It claimed that the facility was 30% cheaper than the 100 MW project built by the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics and said its overall efficiency is 72%.
The $207.8 million facility boasts an energy storage capacity of 300 MW/1,800 MWh and occupies an area of approximately 100,000 m2. According to ZCGN, it is capable of providing uninterrupted power discharge for up to six hours, ensuring power supplies to between 200,000 and 300,000 local homes during peak consumption periods.
The station uses an underground salt cave with wells reaching depths of up to 1,000 meters. The cave boasts a gas storage capacity exceeding 500,000 cubic meters.
The facility has an estimated annual electricity generation of 600 GWh and is projected to save about 189,000 tons of standard coal consumption. It will reportedly reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 490,000 tons per year.
The project''s investor has disclosed plans to offer various ancillary services to generate revenue through participation in China''s electricity trading market. It is anticipated that the project will yield an internal rate of return on capital of about 16.38%, with a payback period of around 7.1 years.
It is expected to offer essential power regulation functions to the Shandong provincial power grid, including peak shaving, frequency stabilization, phase shifting, and standby power.
The figure you quote for annual generation of 650 terawatt hours doesn’t sound right.Even running flat out at 300 megawatts for full year 24/7 you don’t even get close to that figure…
Compressed air energy storage is a promising tech for urban and rural areas. It could solve some domestic problems. And i think it is easy to implement it around your ground areas.
Indeed, the use of compressed air for storage will lead the future in electricity storage, as well as a combination with hybrid panels for the production of electricity and solar hot water, by cooling the PV panels will increase the efficiency by about 15% and using the residual heat to heat the compressed air, will increase the efficiency by another 10%.
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