Energy storage microgrids are poised for a new opportunity worth hundreds of billions of RMB!
Feb 27, 2026
I. Why Microgrids Have Been Pushed to the Forefront Microgrids are not a new concept. As early as July 2015, the National Energy Administration issued the "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Construction of New Energy Microgrid Demonstration Projects," marking the official entry of this field into the demonstration and exploration phase. In the following years, although some sporadic projects were implemented, overall progress was lukewarm. Only recently, with the intensive release of relevant policies, has the development pace of microgrids become clearly apparent. To understand its role in the new energy system, let's first return to the concept itself: What is a microgrid? Simply put, a microgrid is a small, complete power system. It consists of distributed power sources, loads, energy storage devices, power distribution facilities, and a control system, capable of self-control, protection, and management. In other words, it possesses all the functions of power generation, distribution, and consumption, and can achieve optimized energy dispatch within the grid. Why are microgrids becoming the focus of the market? We must first discuss the current challenges facing the power grid. A set of data from 2025 succinctly illustrates the problem: my country's installed capacity of new energy sources is approaching 50%, but their share of electricity generation is less than 25%. This huge gap between installed capacity and generation exposes the grid's inability to keep pace with the expansion of new energy. Specifically, in 2025, the national installed capacity of wind and solar new energy is projected to reach 370 million kilowatts. However, at the same time, more than 150 regions across the country are already struggling to connect new distributed photovoltaic projects due to saturated distribution network capacity. On one hand, installed capacity continues to climb; on the other hand, access channels are blocked. Grid connection difficulties have become a real bottleneck restricting the development of new energy. Even with successful grid connection, the cost of system integration of new energy is rising. Xie Kai, general manager of the Beijing Power Exchange Center, once calculated that for every 1% increase in new energy penetration, the system integration cost will increase by approximately 1 cent per kilowatt-hour. According to the State Grid's "Service for New Energy Development Report 2025," the proportion of new energy power generation within its operating area has reached 24.2%. Based on this calculation, the system cost allocated to each kilowatt-hour of new energy currently approaches 0.3 yuan. What does this mean? If the power grid architecture is not adjusted in time, with the 2035 target of 3.6 billion kilowatts of wind and solar installed capacity approaching, new energy sources will be trapped in a vicious cycle of "scale growth, difficulty in absorption, and high costs." ...
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