China operationalizes world's largest compressed air energy storage facility

China has officially operationalized the world's largest compressed air energy storage facility in Jiangsu province, marking a major technical milestone in the nation's push to stabilize its green energy grid.

Harbin Electric Corporation in Harbin, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, announced recently that the second unit of its salt cavern demonstration project in Jiangsu province achieved full-load power generation and was into complete commercial service.

The facility represents a significant leap in long-duration storage technology, utilizing massive underground salt caverns to store energy in the form of compressed air.

The plant consists of two 300-megawatt non-refined storage units with a total storage capacity of 2,400 megawatt-hours and a world-leading 71 percent conversion efficiency.

Once fully integrated into the regional grid, the project is expected to generate about 792 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, providing a stable power supply for roughly 600,000 households.

The environmental benefits are equally substantial, with the facility projected to reduce standard coal consumption by 250,000 metric tons and mitigate 600,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year.

The launch comes amid a period of explosive growth for China's energy storage sector, which has become a vital "buffer" for the country's rapidly expanding but intermittent wind and solar installations.

Beijing has set a target to reach over 180 gigawatts of new-type energy storage capacity by the end of 2027, driving a wave of innovation in alternative storage methods, positioning China as a primary testing ground for next-generation energy infrastructure.