This is a list of energy storage power plants worldwide, other than pumped hydro storage. Many individual energy storage plants augment electrical grids by capturing excess electrical energy during periods of low demand and storing it in other forms until needed on an electrical grid. The energy is later converted back to its electrical form and returned to the grid as needed.
Another energy storage method is the consumption of surplus or low-cost energy (typically during night time) for conversion into resources such as hot water, cool water or ice, which is then used for heating or cooling at other times when electricity is in higher demand and at greater cost per kilowatt hour (kWh). Such thermal energy storage is often employed at end-user sites such as large buildings, and also as part of district heating, thus shifting energy consumption to other times for better balancing of supply and demand.
Table is by default sorted by operational storage capacity in MWh. Minimum capacity for inclusion is either 100 MWh or 100 MW, with a minimum of 1 hour of storage.
Energy storage power plants of at least 100 MW / 100 MWh
World's largest concentrated solar power plant with molten salt storage built in 3 phases - 160 MW phase 1 with 3 hours heat storage, 200 MW phase 2 with 7 hours heat storage and 150 MW phase 3 with 7.5 hours heat storage.[2][3][4]
2nd commercial CAES plant. Stores compressed air in a salt cavern of 220 feet (67 m) diameter, with ten million cubic foot total volume. The cavern is pressurized to 1,100 psi, and it is discharged down to 650 psi. During discharge, 340 pounds per second of air flow out of the cavern. The plant also utilizes nuclear-sourced night-time power for compression and then produces peak power during the day by releasing the compressed air into a 110-MW gas-fired combustion turbine. The turbine unit also makes use of an air-to-air heat exchanger to preheat air from the cavern with waste heat from the turbine. The waste heat recovery system reduces fuel usage by roughly 25%. The system is fully operational within 15 minutes, uses a third of the fuel required for a fuel-only generating system, and can operate efficiently at low loads. The project is used for peak shaving.[5][6][7][8]
Completed in 2013, the parabolic trough solar plant, with 6 hours storage by molten salt, is located near Gila Bend, Arizona. At the time it was the world's largest parabolic trough plant, and the first United States solar plant with thermal storage.[10][11][12][13]
A thermal storage system absorbs part of the daytime heat absorbed by the solar field, heating a molten salt mixture of 60% sodium nitrate and 40% potassium nitrate. The heat is used to drive a turbine-generator when direct sunlight is not available, nearly doubling the available hours of operation. A full thermal reservoir holds 1,010 MWh of heat capability, enough to run the turbine for over seven hours at full load.[1][17][18]
First commercial CAES plant, operational since 1978, using nuclear-sourced night-time power to compress and inject the air into two caverns of 310,000 m³ total volume. The 600 m cavern depth ensures the air's stability through seasonal temperature changes, and guarantees the specified maximum pressure of 100 bar. One cavern is cycled daily; the other serves as backup when the nearby nuclear power plant goes offline.[5][6]
The Bokpoort Concentrated Solar Plant (CSP) Project, being contracted in 2014, comprises a solar field, a power block, a thermal energy storage system and related infrastructure such as grid interconnection and water abstraction and treatment systems. The solar field comprises loops of parabolic trough solar collector assemblies which will collect the heat from the sun. The solar collectors will be capable of heating the heat transfer fluid up to 393 °C. The power block comprises a solar steam generator and a steam turbine delivering 50 MW (net).[27]
Was the largest BESS project in Nevada upon its completion, utilizing 208 BYD battery units.[29][30] Built on the site of the former coal-fired Reid Gardner Generating Station.[31]
First phase,[35] second 100MW/400MWh phase under construction. The battery is made up of ten 20MW/80MWh Vanadium Flow Battery (VFB) energy storage systems deployed in Dalian city and connected to the main grid of Liaoning Province which has experienced stress during extreme weather events. This project is approved by China National Energy Administration, and the owner is a JV with the major shareholder being a local utility company, and the minor being Rongke Power.[5][36][37]
KaXu Solar One is a 100 MW parabolic trough plant. The power station will have a storage capacity of three hours and use molten salt to store heat energy. In the parabolic trough system, the sun's energy is concentrated by parabolically curved, trough-shaped reflectors onto a receiver pipe running along the focal line of the curved surface. This energy heats oil flowing through the pipe, and the heat energy is then used to convert water to steam and generate electricity in a conventional steam generator.[27]
Tesla Powerpack is charged using renewable energy and delivers electricity during peak hours to help maintain the reliable operation of South Australia's electrical infrastructure. It initially provided up to 100 MW peak with a capacity of 129 MWh, and was expanded in July 2020 to 150 MW/193.5MWh.[55][56]
Khi Solar One is a 50 MW concentrated solar power plant with a power tower that uses large, sun-tracking mirrors (heliostats) to focus sunlight on a receiver at the top of a tower. Water is pumped up to the tower mounted receiver and is converted to steam, which, in turn, is used in a conventional turbine generator to produce electricity. The power station will include a facility to store steam, enabling it to generate electricity for two hours when the sun is not shining.[27][59]
Paired with 1,700 MW wind capacity and 300 MW solar capacity[67][68]
Holtsville Energy Storage Project
Battery, Li-Ion
440
110
4
United States
Holtsville, New York
2025
Holtsville Energy Storage, LLC is a proposed 110 MW / four-hour battery energy storage facility in Brookhaven, New York, with enough storage energy capacity to power 18,366 homes, bringing numerous positive impacts to the local community and economy. The proposed facility, expected to be operational by 2025, will store energy that will be dispatched during peak demand hours and during emergency outages.[69]
Site Plans were unanimously approved by Brookhaven Town Planning Board on January 23, 2023.[70]
Thermal energy storage plants of at least 1 MW / 1 MWh
Name
Type
Capacity
Country
Location
Year
Description
MWh
MW
hrs
Mustikkamaa heat storage
Thermal storage, hot water in rock caverns
11,600
120
96
Finland
Helsinki
2022
Helen Oy is commissioning an 11.6 GWh capacity and 120 MW thermal output for its 260,000 m3 water cistern under Mustikkamaa (fully charged or discharged in 4 days at capacity), operating from 2022 to offset days of peak production/demand;[73][74]
Vaskiluoto heat storage
Thermal storage, hot water in rock caverns
11,000
110
100
Finland
Vaasa
2020
Vaasan Voima Oy is operating a 11 GWh capacity and 110 MW thermal output for its 210,000 m3 water caverns under Vaasa (fully charged or discharged in 4-5 days at capacity), operating from 2020;[75]
Reuter West
Thermal storage, hot water tank
2,600
200
13
Germany
Berlin
2022
Vattenfall's Reuter West[76][77]combined heat and power (CHP) station near Berlin had a 56 megalitres (56,000 m3) "thermos" tank added, for storing up to 200MW as hot water that can then be fed to Berlin’s hot water consumers. It will be heated by otherwise unused electricity from renewable sources.[78] The existing plant has a hot water capacity of 120MWth using by-product heat from the electrical generation.[76]
Drake Landing Solar Community began operation in 2006. Solar thermal energy is collected in flat plate glazed collectors, pumped to a bore field where the heat is radiated to soil. That process is reversed to utilize the heat in 52 single family (detached) homes. In 2012, DLSC set a world record by heating the 52 homes with 97% renewable energy. The borefield that stores the heat is approximately 100 feet wide in each direction and 120 feet deep.
The Ice Thermal Storage System provides load shifting to the building. On most days, the building can be cooled solely by the ice system, but a chiller is included, which covers peak cooling demand.[5]
This project installed a total of 180 Ice Thermal Energy storage units at 28 Glendale city buildings and 58 local small, medium-sized, and large commercial businesses during a one-year installation process.[5]
2.68 million gallon, chilled water, Thermal energy storage tank. Built partially buried and serving the district cooling system for 25 state government buildings.[5]
The university placed three separate orders for energy storage tanks and they were added to two of their three existing central plants in 2004, 2006 and 2007. There are 205 tanks in total at the two plants.[5]
Ice Energy and REU will collaborate on the second phase. The program to install Ice Bear units within the northern California territory aims to reduce peak electricity load demand by up to 6 MW over five years. REU expects to have the thermal energy storage program completed in 2017. Skyway Machine, a local Redding manufacturing company, will provide final assembly of the new Ice Bear units.[5]
Largest by technology
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The battery arrays approved by the China National Energy Administration will be made up of ten (10X) 20MW/80MWh Vanadium Flow Battery (VFB) energy storage systems connected to the main grid of Liaoning Province. After full commissioning, the VFB energy storage system will be able to peak-shave approximately 8% of Liaoning Province's expected peaking capacity in 2020. In addition, the large-scale battery will form an additional load center, which will enhance grid stabilization including securing the power supply and providing black-start capabilities in the event of emergency. This project will be deployed in two phases, each with 100MW/400MWh. The first phase will be finished around the end of 2017 and the second will be finished around the end of 2018. This project is approved by China National Energy Administration, and the owner is a JV with the major shareholder being a local utility company, and the minor being RONGKE POWER.[needs update]
First commercial CAES plant, operational since 1978, using nuclear-sourced night-time power to compress and inject the air into two caverns of 310,000 m³ total volume. The 600 m cavern depth ensures the air's stability through seasonal temperature changes, and guarantees the specified maximum pressure of 100 bar. One cavern is cycled daily; the other serves as backup when the nearby nuclear power plant goes offline.
^Colthorpe, Andy (28 January 2019). "UAE integrates 648MWh of sodium sulfur batteries in one swoop". Energy Storage News. Archived from the original on 11 September 2020. 10 locations – 15 systems in total – adding up to 108MW / 648MWh in total, with each system able to store energy for six hours. The total undertaking includes 12 x 4MW systems and three 20MW systems. 'virtual' description is correct in the sense that the 15 systems in 10 locations "can be controlled as a single plant. While of course they can still be controlled individually when local support to the grid is needed".
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