The Southern Power Grid has difficulty storing energy

Decarbonization of the Southern Power Grid in China is feasible by 2060 but requires converting a large cropland area to support solar and wind energy; expansion of hydropower will impact the transboundary rivers according to a power system optimization model set up for 2020–2060.

But the risks for power-system security of the converse problem — excessive energy storage — have been mostly overlooked. China plans to install up to 180 million kilowatts of pumped-storage hydropower capacity by 2030. This is around 3.5 times the current capacity, and equivalent to 8 power plants the size of China's Three Gorges Dam.

Despite their considerable advantages, grid-level energy storage systems encounter several challenges: High implementation costs can hinder clean energy projects crucial for a sustainable future. These costs stem from advanced technologies necessary for efficient energy storage, significant infrastructure upgrades, and ongoing maintenance expenses.

With the rapid increase of highly volatile electrical generators on the grid in the form of non-dispatchable variable renewable energy, e.g. wind turbines and PV solar, there has been a push to store more excess power rather than curtailing it, in addition to using energy storage for general grid health.

This helps match energy supply with demand and stabilizes the electricity market, improving grid reliability. By employing modern storage solutions such as lithium-ion batteries, pumped hydro storage, and thermal storage, grid operators can enhance grid stability.

In that regard such storage systems are an integral part of the grid. This is different from the way that 'grid storage' has entered the public vernacular, in the sense of time-shifting large amounts of energy produced by renewable energy sources such as wind turbines and PV solar panels.