China has built the world's first 300 MW CAES plant connected to the grid at full capacity.

International

In January 2025, Nengchu-1, the world's first 300-Megawatt (MW) Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) demonstration project, was fully connected to the grid in Yingcheng, Hubei Province, China.


      - This project is the world’s first fully green, non-combustion energy plant, developed and invested by China Energy Engineering Group Corporation Limited (CEEC).

      - Nengchu-1 is the first large-scale CAES solution in the world that has independent intellectual property rights and a complete industrial supply chain. It stores energy for a long duration.

      - The project has set three world records in the areas of single-unit power, storage capacity, and energy conversion efficiency.

Main Point :-   (i) The project’s energy storage capacity is 1,500 megawatt-hours (MWh), and it has underground gas storage of 700,000 cubic meters (m³).

      (ii) The system can store energy for up to 8 hours and release energy for 5 hours daily, with a service life of over 30 years.

(iii) Nengchu-1 will save 159,000 tons of standard coal and reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 411,000 tons each year. This also helps in managing the power grid’s functions and the fluctuating nature of renewable energy generation.
About China

Capital: Beijing
President: Xi Jinping
          ____________________________