The world's largest compressed air energy storage unit is ready for operation

Largest and most effective national advanced storage demonstration project

compressed air energycompressed air energy storage (CAES) was successfully connected to the power grid. It has already been prepared for commercial operation in Zhangjiakou, a city in northern China's Hebei province, according to a press release from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The project is the world's first CAES power plant with a capacity of 100 MW.

The station was developed at the Institute of EngineeringThermophysics (eng. Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, IET) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and can annually generate more than 132 million kWh of electricity. This will provide 40,000–60,000 households with electricity during peak demand periods. From an environmental point of view, the installation will save 42,000 tonnes of standard coal and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 109,000 tonnes per year, the IET said.

CAES is a type of battery that usesoff-peak or excess electricity from the grid for energy production. This is possible by using additional electricity to operate the compressor, which, in turn, produces heated compressed air. It is stored inside a specially constructed underground cavity, where hydrostatic pressure pushes it back to the surface.

There it reheats in thermalstorage device and is sent through a turbine, which generates electricity. CAES systems are becoming increasingly popular because, compared to conventional batteries, they can store energy for a longer period of time and require less maintenance.

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