China’s gigawatt contribution to global energy storage

Last year, global operational energy storage capacity totalled an impressive 183.1 GW, representing an increase of 1.2% from 2018. One of the leaders in energy storage capacity is China, representing 17.6% of the global total with 32.3 GW according to the China Energy Storage Alliance (CNESA).

CBI’s interactive map is filled with lead battery energy storage installations based in China, from the world’s highest solar farm in Tibet to large-scale energy storage projects serving industrial zones. 

We’ve just launched our newest case study featuring Narada’s 20 MW/160 MWh project delivering reliable energy to more than 50,000 people working in an industrial zone in Wuxi, Jiangsu. As one of the largest customer-serving energy storage projects in the world, this project demonstrates the diversity of advanced lead batteries for energy storage, where Narada’s lead-carbon technology is utilized for large-scale time shift/storage services.

There are many different types of technologies used for energy storage, with lead batteries falling into the electrochemical category. Electrochemical energy storage accounts for 4.5% of global capacity, and in China, it makes up 4.9% of the country’s energy storage capacity. Lead batteries are an important player in China’s energy storage, representing 18.6% of its electrochemical storage capacity.

2019 demonstrated the importance of energy storage globally, delivering clean and reliable power for a range of services from frequency regulation and peak shifting to microgrids. Combining energy storage with the advancement of renewable energy goals was a key trend of 2019, with solar + storage projects among the most active in both China and the wider world. Check out our case studies page for more technical case studies featuring lead batteries involved in this sector.