China’s operational new-type energy storage capacity reached 167 GW/435 GWh at the end of September 2026, 63% higher than a year earlier, according to National Energy Administration (NEA) figures presented at its quarterly press conference on Oct. 30.
The category covers electrochemical, compressed-air and other emerging storage systems but excludes conventional pumped hydro. At the end of 2025, capacity stood at 135.93 GW/351.12 GWh, implying a net increase of about 31 GW/84 GWh during the first nine months of 2026. The latest figures cover the first nine months of the year.
Longer duration, higher use
Average storage duration rose to 2.61 hours, about 0.27 hours more than a year earlier. Equivalent utilization hours reached around 915 hours over the nine-month period, roughly 10 hours above the same period in 2025. The NEA data therefore point to gradual changes in system configuration and utilization alongside installed capacity growth.
The agency attributed the expansion to government policies, technological innovation, industrial supply chains and growing demand for flexibility in the power system. China’s combined wind and solar generating capacity exceeded 2.01 TW at the end of September, about 48.7% of total installed power capacity. As variable renewable output grows, storage is needed to absorb surplus electricity, shift generation to periods of higher demand and provide fast-response grid services.
Market structure shifts
Official 2025 figures showed that independent storage facilities accounted for 51.2% of cumulative new-type installations. Projects of 100 MW or more made up 72% of installed capacity, while systems with durations of at least four hours accounted for 27.6%. Lithium-ion batteries remained dominant at about 96% of installed new-type capacity, though compressed-air, flow batteries and other technologies are slowly expanding.
Market reforms are expected to reinforce these trends. China has been developing arrangements that allow independent storage operators to earn revenue from electricity trading, ancillary services and capacity remuneration, reducing reliance on mandatory storage linked to renewable projects. Under the 15th Five-Year Plan for power system development, new-type storage capacity is targeted at 300 GW by 2030, with more emphasis on longer-duration systems, grid-forming capability and operational efficiency.
Grid balancing in practice
In western Inner Mongolia, the grid operator reported 20.23 GW/70.47 GWh of operational storage in October. During emergency dispatch, storage supplied up to 12.25 GW, equal to 33% of the grid’s electricity demand at the time. The example shows how storage can provide substantial short-term balancing capacity in systems with high renewable penetration. For other countries expanding wind and solar, China’s deployment offers experience in large-scale manufacturing, grid integration and centralized dispatch.