2026 Latest Substation Energy Storage Hot News

2026-04-12 20:01:54

1. Major National Policy Guidance (December 2025 - January 2026)

The National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration issued documents, clearly defining for the first time that substation-area energy storage equals grid-replacement energy storage. It is changed from optional to a mandatory part of distribution network infrastructure, capable of substituting transformer capacity expansion and line renovation, reducing renovation costs by 70%, and allowing construction without power outages.

Four major scenarios for implementation: rural grid upgrades, overload management of charging stations, photovoltaic consumption, and substation-area emergency power supply.

Simultaneously, a capacity electricity price mechanism is implemented, forming threefold revenue: capacity guarantee, peak-valley electricity price, and ancillary services, creating a complete investment and profit loop.

2. Explosive Installation in Shandong Province (Latest in Q1 2026)

• From January to March, Shandong filed 156 substation-area energy storage projects, totaling 4.24 GW / 8.5 GWh, accounting for nearly half of the province’s energy storage.

• In the first week of April, 64 new projects were added, with cloud energy storage aggregation mode becoming mainstream, all centrally dispatched as a virtual power plant.

• Shandong new policy: substation-area energy storage can independently participate in market trading, and electricity delivery is exempt from transmission and distribution fees, increasing revenue per kWh by about 20%, officially implemented on June 1.

3. Implementation in Pilot Provinces Nationwide

The country has designated five priority provinces for construction: Shandong, Henan, Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Guangxi, issued annual construction targets, accelerated power grid bidding, and large-scale batch launches in each province.

4. Advanced Technology Projects (March 2026)

The first domestic aqueous flow battery substation-area energy storage was put into operation in Suqian, Jiangsu; intrinsically safe, non-flammable, long lifespan, and recyclable; photovoltaic-storage collaboration achieves 98% photovoltaic consumption, maintaining supply during outages.

The industry is fully moving toward liquid-cooled storage cabinets, four-bridge-arm inverters, cloud storage aggregation, and standardized all-in-one construction and operation solutions.

5. Core Engineering Value

Substation-area voltage regulation and loss reduction, peak shaving and valley filling, photovoltaic reverse flow management, emergency backup power during outages, flexible substation-area expansion, standard equipment for State Grid and China Southern Power Grid distribution network renovation.