February Policy Review: Yunnan and Guizhou Still Require Energy Storage; Multi-dimensional Subsidies for New Energy Storage and Virtual Power Plants
As of April 8, 2025, the month of February saw the release of a total of 81 energy storage-related policies. Of these, 7 were at the national level, while 74 were local policies. Among the local policies, there were 8 related to subsidies, 4 for new energy storage, 46 for development planning, 7 for management standards, 7 for the electricity market, and 2 for technical equipment.
Overall, the significant reduction in new energy storage policies this month was primarily due to the “Document No. 136,” which states that mandatory energy storage requirements for new energy projects will no longer be enforced. Many regions have shifted towards capacity leasing or shared energy storage models. In terms of subsidies, 8 regions, including Jiangsu, Sichuan, and Hunan, provided financial support for storage capacity and charge-discharge services. At various government levels, from provinces to counties, energy storage industry plans have been issued, resulting in the highest number of development planning policies.
This article highlights important policies issued during this period.
National Level
On the 9th, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the National Energy Administration (NEA) released a notice titled “Notification on Deepening the Market Reform of Renewable Energy Grid Pricing to Promote High-Quality Development of Renewable Energy,” also referred to as the “Document No. 136.” This document specifies that energy storage configuration cannot be a prerequisite for the approval, grid connection, or power generation of new renewable energy projects. For renewable energy projects that receive government subsidies, the subsidy standards will continue to follow existing rules within the reasonable use hours over the project’s lifecycle.
In addition to the crucial “Document No. 136” for the energy storage industry, various policies were introduced to promote the high-quality development of the new energy storage industry, establishing a support system encompassing “technological breakthroughs + infrastructure + financial guarantees.” This system focuses on breakthroughs in storage technology, charging and swapping facilities, forward-looking layouts, and financial security, aiming to construct a new energy system that integrates source, grid, load, and storage.
On the 17th, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and seven other departments released the “Action Plan for High-Quality Development of the New Energy Storage Manufacturing Industry.” This plan accelerates the diversification of new energy storage technologies to meet the demands for short, medium, and long-term energy storage across various applications, enhancing the safety, reliability, economic feasibility, and energy conversion efficiency of new energy storage products and technologies.
On the 25th, the Ministry of Finance, MIIT, and the Ministry of Transport issued a notice regarding the pilot application for shortfall in charging and swapping facilities in counties for 2025. A total of 75 pilot counties will receive support, and projects demonstrating clear exemplary effects in vehicle-to-grid (V2G) interactions will be eligible for a calculation standard based on the total project power divided by three times 120 kilowatts.
On the 27th, the Office of the National Financial Regulatory Administration and the People’s Bank of China released the “Implementation Plan for the High-Quality Development of Green Finance in the Banking and Insurance Industries.” Financial institutions are encouraged to support projects in energy storage, pumped storage, smart grids, microgrids, and other new energy sectors, enhancing project connections and credit support while strengthening financial risk prevention and providing insurance protection throughout the project lifecycle. Efforts will be made to improve the financial services across the entire industrial chain of new energy vehicles and increase financial support in the charging infrastructure sector.
On the same day, the National Energy Administration published the “Guiding Opinions on Energy Work for 2025,” which calls for the establishment of a market mechanism that accommodates extensive participation of new energy storage and virtual power plants, as well as enhancing innovation and forward-looking layouts in long-duration energy storage technologies.
Local Level
Following the publication of “Document No. 136,” mandatory energy storage requirements have been transformed into voluntary ones in various regions, encouraging capacity leasing and shared power stations. However, provinces like Guizhou, Yunnan, and Guangdong still impose requirements on the scale and duration of energy storage configuration.
The Guizhou Provincial Government issued the “Management Measures for Wind and Solar Power Generation Projects in Guizhou Province (Draft for Comments).” Projects included in the annual construction scale plan for wind and solar power must ensure a minimum of 10% of installed capacity (sufficient for 2 hours of operation) in energy storage or purchase energy storage services. Projects that do not meet the timeline for full completion will be subject to market-based grid connections, with specific requirements for energy storage capacity increasing based on the delay duration.
The Yunnan Provincial Development and Reform Commission released the “Policy Measures for Promoting the Integrated Development of Photovoltaic Power Generation and Photovoltaic Manufacturing in Yunnan (Draft for Comments),” mandating that photovoltaic projects enhance their absorption capacity by configuring no less than 10% of the installed capacity, and encouraging owners to adopt shared models for this configuration.
The Guangdong Provincial Development and Reform Commission published the “Report on Developing a Modern Industrial System in Guangdong Province (2023-2024),” which requires new offshore wind, onshore wind, and photovoltaic projects exceeding 30,000 kilowatts to configure at least 10% of their installed capacity for 2 hours starting from the first grid connection in 2025 and beyond.
Between 2020 and 2023, approximately 87 new energy storage policies were introduced nationwide, with storage ratios ranging from 5% to 55% and durations from 1 to 4 hours. As of December 19, 2024, 45 policies stipulated energy storage for wind and solar energy projects. The notable decline in energy storage policies reflects a trend this year, although some regions still require energy storage to enhance the absorption capacity of new energy.
Subsidies
This month, 8 regions, including Shanghai, Jiangsu, Guangdong, and Hunan, released 8 policies concerning energy storage subsidies. These policies address precise responses for virtual power plants, new energy storage stations, key technology breakthroughs, passenger vehicles, and charging facilities. The subsidies include discharge, installation, and capacity subsidies, forming a comprehensive “investment-construction-operation” subsidy cycle to financially support the development of the energy storage industry.
Sichuan Yibin organized applications for new energy storage project subsidies for 2024. Independent energy storage stations in Yibin that are included in the Sichuan New Energy Storage Demonstration Projects with capacities of 100,000 kilowatts/200,000 kilowatt-hours or more can receive up to 4 million yuan annually. Additionally, newly established user-side storage projects (excluding lead-acid projects) with installed capacities not less than 100 kilowatts and annual utilization hours reaching 100 hours can receive a subsidy of up to 100 yuan per kilowatt, with a maximum annual subsidy of 1 million yuan for each project.
Regarding virtual power plants, the Songjiang District Government released the “Trial Management Measures for Precise Response in Virtual Power Plants in Songjiang District, Shanghai (Draft for Comments).” Users who participate in the precise response of the virtual power plant with actual adjustment amounts between 90% and 110% of the contracted response amount will receive incentives based on their actual adjustment amounts. Daily and intraday responses will be compensated at 2 yuan/kWh, rapid responses at 4 yuan/kWh, and real-time responses at 6 yuan/kWh (with a maximum annual incentive of 100,000 yuan per user).
On the 12th, the Changzhou Government in Jiangsu released “Several Policies to Further Support Innovation and Development of Enterprises.” This policy supports the scaling application of energy storage in the new energy sector, providing investment and operational support of up to 0.3 yuan per kilowatt-hour for new energy storage stations with an installed capacity of 0.5 megawatts or more, starting from the month following their grid connection.
The Guangming District Development and Reform Bureau in Shenzhen released the “Operational Guidelines for Supporting the Accelerated Development of the New Energy Storage Industry in Guangming District.” Qualified new energy storage projects will receive support of up to 500,000 yuan, accounting for 20% of actual investment.
On the 18th, the Hunan Provincial Government issued “Several Policy Measures to Promote the High-Quality Development of the Green Intelligent Computing Industry.” This policy supports the local infrastructure for computing power to be equipped with energy storage facilities, enhancing their power self-balancing capabilities. Projects with energy storage facilities of 500 kilowatt-hours or more will receive a subsidy of up to 10% of the project investment, with a maximum of 10 million yuan.
Electricity Market
This month, 7 policies related to the electricity market were issued, regulating the participation requirements for independent energy storage and virtual power plants in mid- to long-term trading and the electricity spot market. On the 12th, the Jilin Provincial Energy Bureau and two other departments released the “Supplementary Regulations for Electricity Mid- to Long-Term Trading Rules in Jilin Province.” Independent new energy storage, load aggregators, and virtual power plants must connect to the new electric load management system, with a minimum aggregation capacity of 5 megawatts and a minimum adjustment capability of 10%. The maximum charging and discharging power for independent new energy storage must comply with national and provincial regulations, with discharge and charge times not less than 1 hour.
The Southern Energy Regulatory Bureau published the revised “Two Regulations” for the southern region. It states that independent energy storage stations should actively participate in system peak regulation and receive peak regulation compensation fairly. If 10% of coal-fired units in the province require deep peak regulation compensation, the charging energy for independent energy storage stations entering a charging state during that period will be compensated at a standard of 12×R5 (yuan/megawatt-hour).
On the 21st, the Hebei Electric Power Trading Center released the “Series Rules V3.0 for the Hebei Southern Network Electricity Spot Market.” Newly established independent storage and other new business entities will initially participate in spot trading by reporting their energy volumes without quoting prices, prioritizing clearing while ensuring grid safety and renewable energy absorption. Providers of ancillary services will primarily consist of grid-connected power generation enterprises, and independent energy storage operators are encouraged to participate in providing ancillary services. Independent storage facilities providing frequency modulation services will not participate in energy market clearing. Participating independent energy storage and virtual power plants must meet the requirements of the “Two Regulations,” and independent energy storage’s charging power must not be less than 10 megawatts; virtual power plants must be able to modulate electricity not less than 10 megawatts.
Management Standards
This month, 7 management standard policies were released in regions such as Sichuan and Inner Mongolia, regulating project registration and operational management of storage stations. The Inner Mongolia Energy Bureau issued a notice to streamline administrative procedures and optimize services in the energy sector. Relevant authorities for integrated source, network, load, and storage projects have been delegated to local energy departments.
On the 20th, the Sichuan Provincial Development and Reform Commission and three other departments issued the “Guidelines for Safety Management of New Energy Storage Stations in Sichuan Province (Interim).” This underscores the need for grid enterprises to actively cooperate in the grid connection and acceptance of new energy storage stations, ensuring that projects meet national (industry) grid connection technical standards and preventing “sick grid connections.”
On the 26th, Jiangmen City in Guangdong released a supplementary notice for the “Implementation Plan for Recommended Layout of New Energy Storage Station Projects (2023-2027).” It suggests that independent energy storage stations should have a single access capacity no greater than 250,000 kilowatts and adhere to annual construction planning, with adjustments made as necessary. Established projects must clearly define fire safety responsibilities, and ongoing projects must actively report their status.
Similarly, the “Power Supply Guarantee Planning for Guangzhou City Towards 2035” suggests accelerating the centralized management of distributed resources such as energy storage, charging piles, photovoltaics, and communication bases through a unified virtual power plant management platform. The dense issuance of management standard policies indicates that the energy storage industry is advancing toward refined governance, establishing safety bottom lines through grid connection acceptance and fire safety responsibilities while achieving effective planning and scheduling for distributed resources.
Development Planning
This month, 46 development planning policies were released at the local level, showcasing a multi-faceted layout in technology, platforms, and infrastructure for energy storage. Regions like Fujian, Guangdong, and Henan have clarified their aims for a comprehensive energy storage equipment industry chain, covering various storage technologies, including electrochemical, flywheel, and compressed air storage. Ganzhou in Jiangxi supports the development of innovative materials, technologies, systems, and applications for new energy storage batteries.
Guangdong, Yunnan, and Zhejiang are laying out plans for future energy storage industries and demonstration projects, promoting the construction of new energy storage projects and outlining targets for new energy and storage installations. Guangdong aims to add 1 million kilowatts of new energy storage installations by 2025, while Xishuangbanna in Yunnan aims for over 1 million kilowatts of new energy installations by 2025, actively promoting the construction of a shared new energy storage project. Jinhua in Zhejiang plans to add 150,000 kilowatts of energy storage installations by 2025.
In terms of application scenarios, energy storage is rapidly being integrated into telecommunications, transportation, and logistics sectors, with examples ranging from Sichuan’s “light-storage bases” and “5G bases” to Chongqing’s “energy storage battery railway transport.” The “Action Plan for Building a Nationally Important New Energy and New Energy Equipment Manufacturing Base” from Gansu explores further applications of new energy storage in zero-carbon parks and smart microgrids.
Guangzhou’s Huadu District emphasizes maximizing the potential of distributed resources such as energy storage, charging stations, photovoltaics, and communication bases to construct smart grids and accelerate the development of microgrids, virtual power plants, and integrated source, network, load, and storage projects.
Additionally, the Anhui Provincial Development and Reform Commission has released the “2025 Work Points for Building a New Energy Vehicle Industry Cluster in Anhui.” The plan aims to establish 25,000 public charging stations and 23,000 dedicated and private charging stations, ensuring coverage in every county and village, as well as promoting and enhancing the “Anhui Charging and Swapping” APP. Support will be extended to Zhong’an Energy (Anhui) Co., Ltd. to complete the construction of 100 integrated charging and swapping stations, achieving inter-county connectivity for battery swapping stations.
On the 10th, the Yinchuan City Government in Ningxia released the “2025 National Economic and Social Development Plan.” This plan focuses on the integration of source, network, load, and storage along with multi-energy complementarity, implementing 20 new energy projects, including Kunming’s new energy storage batteries, and accelerating the establishment of green energy parks and towns to enhance green energy absorption capabilities and build a new energy system and new power grid.
Moreover, new models of distributed “new energy generation + storage facilities + microgrids” are being explored to improve the utilization of renewable energy.
International Developments
In India, a mandate has been introduced requiring energy storage systems for photovoltaic projects. The Swiss Federal Council passed the “Second Electricity Supply Act,” allowing operators to request household solar storage systems, V2G charging stations, and electric vehicle users to pay a grid fee. Storage system or power plant operators are permitted to sell frequency regulation services to the grid through contracts and earn revenue.
The Indian Ministry of Power issued a regulation requiring that photovoltaic projects include a storage system with a provision of 10%/2 hours during the tendering process. The aim is to mitigate the intermittency of photovoltaic power generation and provide power support during peak demand periods. Furthermore, distribution companies may consider integrating 2-hour storage systems into rooftop solar systems.
The German Parliament has passed several amendments to the Renewable Energy Act, which include the cancellation of feed-in subsidies during negative pricing periods and an extension of the subsidy period by 20 years. Voluntary participating system operators will receive compensation of 0.6 euro cents/kWh. The maximum power generation from new photovoltaic systems is limited to 60% of their maximum capacity.
