Robert Friedland, Chairman of VRB Energy, and Dr. Mianyan Huang, Chief Technology Officer and President of China Operations, are pleased to announce the company has completed the commissioning of Phase 1 of the Hubei Zaoyang 10-megawatt (MW)/40-megawatt-hour (MWh) Utility-Scale Solar and Storage Integration Demonstration Project, with a 3 MW 12 MWh vanadium-redox-battery energy-storage-system (VRB-ESS) commencing operation.
Image: VRB Energy’s engineers inspecting the VRB-ESS. Photo: courtesy of VRB Energy.
“I am delighted to see the commissioning and operation of the largest capacity vanadium redox battery built in China to date. This project represents a key step in applying China’s rich vanadium resources to renewable energy development that will transform the energy industry and help alleviate environmental problems,” said Mr. Friedland.
“Hubei Province has abundant vanadium mineral resources. This project combines locally sourced vanadium with VRB Energy’s advanced energy storage technology to serve as a brand new partnership model for fostering local economic development, energy transformation, comprehensive utilization of resources and sustainable development,” said Mr. Xie Guoguang, Chairman of Hubei Pingfan Ruifeng New Energy Technology Ltd. – the project’s investor.
Upon completion of the commissioning and the commencement of operations, Chinese government official Mr. Li Lecheng, member of the Standing Committee of Hubei Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Xiangyang Municipal Committee, led government leaders from Xiangyang City and Zaoyang City in inspecting the project.
Secretary Li affirmed the significance of the project and the achievements in its construction. He encouraged the parties involved in the project to continue efforts to promote project construction methods and learnings, accelerate construction of renewable energy generation and storage, and drive development and localization of the energy storage industry in order to advance economic development and environmental protection.
Building on the valuable experience gained from construction of this project, the project investor and all parties involved in the construction are working closely on pursuing multiple 100MW-class vanadium redox battery storage projects in Hubei, China. These projects would help to fulfill a key initiative under China’s 2017 energy storage policy published by the National Development and Reform Commission – the macroeconomic management agency under the Chinese State Council that has broad administrative and planning control over the Chinese economy – to deploy multiple 100 MW-class vanadium flow batteries as part of broader efforts to increase renewable energy use, lower emissions and improve efficiency in the electricity sector.
Source: Company Press Release