Accelerating New Energy Storage Development in Yunnan: The Rise of the Plateau “Power Bank”

Accelerating the Construction of New Energy Storage in Our Province: The Plateau “Power Bank” is Emerging as a New Energy Trend

In an area approximately the size of five football fields, a series of light gray battery containers have formed a new type of energy storage station, resembling a “super power bank” that continuously and stably delivers green electricity. This is the recently inaugurated Baocai Energy Storage Station in Qiubei County, which is China’s first large-scale lithium-sodium hybrid energy storage station. With an installed capacity of 200 megawatts/400 megawatt-hours, it can adjust electricity supply by 580 million kilowatt-hours annually, equivalent to the yearly electricity consumption of nearly 270,000 households, with a green energy share of 98%.

In Yunnan, similar “super power banks” are being established in various locations, contributing to stable electricity regulation while empowering local economic and social development. This has ignited a new energy trend characterized by “policy support, technological innovation, and market participation.”

Technological Innovation Leading to New Breakthroughs in Energy Storage

Upon entering the Baocai Energy Storage Station, over 150 battery containers and boost conversion units are neatly arranged like square blocks in the open space, each differing in size and emitting a consistent humming sound. With the support of various cutting-edge technologies, this large “power bank” can charge during low electricity demand periods using clean energy sources like wind and solar, and during peak demand, it delivers stored green electricity to households, achieving a “millisecond-level” response to the electricity system’s regulatory needs.

The energy storage station integrates mature, cost-effective lithium-ion batteries with high-performance, versatile sodium-ion batteries, significantly enhancing its regulatory capability. Compared to pure lithium or sodium energy storage stations, it is more flexible, efficient, and economically advantageous. It also features the world’s first engineering application of a grid-type sodium-ion battery energy storage system, which can quickly respond to load changes in new power systems, intermittent fluctuations in renewable energy, and electricity market demands. This supports a stable integration of substantial renewable energy into the grid, promoting its efficient utilization.

“The energy storage station can intelligently sense fluctuations caused by renewable energy integration into the grid, adjusting output voltage and frequency in real-time. It operates in multiple modes, including slow charge, slow discharge, fast charge, and fast discharge. The fastest response speed of the world’s first large-capacity sodium-ion battery is six times that of existing sodium-ion batteries,” said Chen Man, Deputy Director of the Energy Storage Research Institute at Southern Power Grid Energy Storage Company.

Additionally, after its commissioning, the station adopted an “independent + shared” operational model, maximizing the role of energy storage in the new power system by simultaneously responding to load adjustments, facilitating renewable energy leasing, and enabling electricity trading. The 200-megawatt capacity can serve over 30 wind and solar power plants, offering significant assistance and benefits to renewable energy enterprises, according to Wang Hui, Head of Baocai Energy Storage Station.

Currently, lithium-ion battery storage accounts for as much as 97% of the newly constructed energy storage projects in China, while sodium-ion battery storage represents less than 1%. With ongoing advancements in new energy storage technologies, sodium-ion batteries—known for their long cycle life, resilience to temperature variations, and abundant raw material availability—have significant market potential. Lithium-sodium hybrid storage and sodium battery storage are set to become key directions in the development of new energy storage.

The Baocai Energy Storage Station, as Yunnan’s first operational grid-type shared energy storage project, integrates five different technological routes. By showcasing operational effectiveness through “platform competitions,” it aims to enhance technical efficiency, providing a demonstration for future applications of grid-type energy storage technologies in various scenarios and accumulating experience for Yunnan in building “new energy + grid-type storage” demonstrations.

Seizing Opportunities as New Energy Storage Gains Traction

An ideal power system should maintain a dynamic balance at all times, efficiently and sustainably realizing charging, storage, and discharging functions. However, the reality is that renewable energy generation often depends on weather conditions, exhibiting randomness, intermittency, and volatility, making it challenging to provide stable and reliable power continuously.

Currently, Yunnan’s renewable energy installed capacity has exceeded 60 million kilowatts, accounting for nearly 40% of the province’s total installed capacity, becoming a major source of new generation power. The continuous expansion of renewable energy capacity presents new challenges for the safe and stable operation of the power system.

“The Yunnan power grid is the most technologically advanced, complex, and greenest AC-DC parallel asynchronous operation provincial grid in the world. The uniqueness of its framework necessitates stronger regulatory measures to address the systemic risks associated with the large-scale integration of renewable energy. Accelerating the construction of key regulatory power sources, represented by energy storage, is crucial for enhancing the power system’s regulatory capability,” said Luo Yao, a specialist at Southern Power Grid’s Yunnan Dispatch Control Center.

Since the beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan, supported by national policies, new energy storage has welcomed a new development opportunity. By seizing this chance, strengthening top-level design, and enhancing policy support, Yunnan has been rapidly accelerating the construction of new energy storage. As of May 26, the province’s cumulative installed capacity of new energy storage has reached 3.035 million kilowatts/6.07 million kilowatt-hours, surpassing the 14th Five-Year Plan target ahead of schedule.

In Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, the aluminum industry is transitioning from a traditional high-energy-consuming sector to a core node in the global green aluminum supply chain, leading to an increasing demand for stable green electricity. Currently, Wenshan’s power capacity is primarily composed of clean energy, with over 70% from renewable sources. “The 200-megawatt capacity of Baocai Energy Storage Station is equivalent to the power consumption of 200,000 ordinary air conditioners running simultaneously. Establishing such a grid-type storage station in Wenshan will significantly promote the absorption of renewable energy, playing a key role in peak power generation during high-demand periods and greatly enhancing grid stability to support the development of the aluminum industry,” Wang Hui commented.

Furthermore, Yunnan is also accelerating the development of various types of energy storage projects in Kunming, Baoshan, and Chuxiong, including lithium iron phosphate batteries, sodium-ion batteries, and compressed air. Recently commissioned, the Baoshan Shuchang 600 megawatt/1200 megawatt-hour energy storage station is the largest single new energy storage project in the southern region, with an expected annual peak regulation capacity exceeding 300 million kilowatt-hours. The Wenshan Malipo 100 megawatt/200 megawatt-hour new shared energy storage project utilizes a “lithium iron phosphate + all-vanadium flow” hybrid technology route, making it the first storage station in the province to apply internationally leading grid-type technology. Additionally, the Kunming Anning 350-megawatt compressed air energy storage demonstration project, which plans to use non-combustion compressed air energy storage technology, is set to commence construction this year and will serve as a demonstration for compressed air energy storage station construction in plateau environments.

Looking ahead, affordable clean energy combined with reliable energy storage technology will strongly support the accelerated green transformation of the energy system. From a “zero breakthrough” to leapfrog development, Yunnan’s new energy storage industry is driven by technological innovation and supported by a collaborative effort between government and enterprise, propelling the transition from quantitative accumulation to qualitative leaps. This will inject strong momentum into the construction of a new power system and an integrated multi-energy complementary base of “wind, solar, hydro, and thermal storage.”