The largest air energy storage project

A compressed air energy storage (CAES) project in Hubei, China, has come online, with 300MW/1,500MWh of capacity. The 5-hour duration project, called Hubei Yingchang, was built in two years with a total investment of CNY1.95 billion (US$270 million) and uses abandoned salt mines in the Yingcheng area of Hubei, China's sixth-most populous province.

The press conference was attended by nearly 200 industry leaders, experts, and media representatives, including: Compressed air energy storage (CAES) is a highly efficient large-scale energy storage technology that stores excess electricity by compressing air during off-peak hours and releases it to generate power during peak demand.

Compressed air energy storage has been included as a key development focus in China's 14th Five-Year Plan for new energy storage technologies, with multiple regions introducing dedicated subsidy policies.

It claimed that the facility was 30% cheaper than the 100 MW project built by the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics and said its overall efficiency is 72%. The $207.8 million facility boasts an energy storage capacity of 300 MW/1,800 MWh and occupies an area of approximately 100,000 m2.

Industry projections indicate that China's compressed air energy storage capacity will exceed 50 GW by 2030, enabling annual CO₂ emission reductions of over 200 million tons - equivalent to shutting down 60 one-gigawatt coal-fired power plants - thereby providing robust support for building a new-type power system.

The $207.8 million facility boasts an energy storage capacity of 300 MW/1,800 MWh and occupies an area of approximately 100,000 m2. According to ZCGN, it is capable of providing uninterrupted power discharge for up to six hours, ensuring power supplies to between 200,000 and 300,000 local homes during peak consumption periods.