China’s Great Energy Shift Sets Mega Hybrid Plants in Motion
China’s Great Energy Shift Sets Mega Hybrid Plants in Motion
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-12/china-s-great-energy-shift-sets-mega-hybrid-projects-in-motionIn China’s latest efforts to pit renewable energy against fossil fuels, it is again betting on size.
Resources such as wind and solar don’t stand much of a chance if there isn’t a way to store energy when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine. So some of China’s biggest state-owned companies are pouring in billions of dollars to build massive projects that will combine the two with energy storage.
The periodic nature of renewables is a challenge because it disrupts the conventional methods for planning the daily operation of the electric grid. The idea with these hybrid projects is that they will allow a more continuous supply of clean power, which will better enable China to reduce its reliance on coal, a major source of smog and climate-warming greenhouse gases.