Coming soon, the super battery system

Two businesses in China will build the world's largest battery system to store electricity from renewable energy sources.

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Build Your Dream (BYD) - a Chinese car and battery manufacturer - has teamed up with China National Grid (SGCC) to build the world's largest battery system.

A statement by BYD and SGCC said the giant battery project will be kicked off in Truong Bac district, Zhangjiakou city, Hebei province, to store electricity produced by wind and photovoltaic plants. Since the battery system is connected to the national grid, it is also a smart power transmission station. With a capacity of 140 MW and a maximum capacity of 36 MWh - the system can power 12,000 households in an hour if the grid is cut off, Popular Science reports.

The battery arrays that make up the world's largest battery system are located
on an area larger than the international football field in Hebei province.

Reserving electricity produced from renewable energy (such as water, wind, sunlight) is an urgent issue because people cannot use all that electricity. With the advent of huge battery systems, hydroelectric, photovoltaic and wind power plants can produce electricity when conditions are favorable. When natural conditions become unfavorable (sunlight drops in winter, low water levels or winds do not appear), people can use the stored power in the battery.

'BYD's work provides a solution for energy storage in the smart grid and increases the efficiency of renewable energy utilization by 5% to 10%,' said BYD.

The largest battery system in the world will be located on a land area larger than the international standard football field. Total investment capital for the project is more than 500 million USD.

'SGCC's project is a solution of energy storage and it will be a model of development for China's new energy sources,' said Xiu Binglin, deputy director of China's National Energy Department. .