China's mountain batteries: a giant leap forward in renewable energy

China's relentless push into renewable energy has taken a bold new turn, with plans to transform its mountains into giant batteries. This ambitious strategy seeks to harness the power of nature to solve the intermittency challenge posed by wind and solar energy.

Storing excess energy in the mountains

With a remarkable 1,840 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity already online, exceeding the country's 2030 target, China is now focused on managing the surplus power generated by its wind and solar farms. The solution lies in pumped hydro storage, a technique that involves building a network of reservoirs in the mountains.

When energy demand is low and renewables produce more power than needed, the excess is pumped up to an elevated reservoir. When demand surges, the water is released, flowing through turbines to generate electricity. This natural storage system is not only more efficient than conventional batteries but also takes advantage of China's abundant mountain terrain.

By converting its mountains into giant batteries, China aims to boost its energy storage capacity to 291 gigawatts by 2030, as estimated by the China Energy Storage Alliance. However, experts remain skeptical about whether this will be enough to meet the growing energy demands driven by data centers and infrastructure growth.