Yunnan province has launched its first source-grid-load-storage integrated pilot project, with construction beginning in the Kaiyuan chemical industrial park in Honghe prefecture.

The project is among the first batch of such pilots in Yunnan and the first in the province to secure grid connection approval, receive official clearance and start construction, according to the Yunnan Regulatory Office of the National Energy Administration.

The project will build 130 MW of centralized solar, 30 MW of distributed solar and 40 MW of wind power, paired with 50 MW/100 MWh of electrochemical energy storage. It will form an efficient energy utilization system combining wind and solar power, a smart microgrid in the park, industrial loads and new-type energy storage, supported by an existing project producing 500,000 tonnes per annum of synthetic ammonia and downstream facilities.

Once operational, the project is expected to boost local consumption of renewable energy and improve grid adaptability and power supply reliability, serving as a demonstration for Yunnan's efforts to build a new-type power system and develop integrated energy services.

The Yunnan energy regulator said it will continue to strengthen oversight of grid connection services and project construction, and push for improved market-based trading mechanisms to make the project a benchmark for promoting renewable consumption, ensuring power supply, cutting costs and enhancing returns.