CIES2025 has officially released the 2025 White Paper on the Development of China’s Industrial Microgrid. The 15th China International Energy Storage Conference and Exhibition, organized by the China Chemical and Physical Power Industry Association and co-hosted by its Energy Storage Application Branch and China Energy Storage Network, opened on March 23, 2025, at the Hangzhou International Expo Center. The theme of the conference was “Green, Intelligent, Integrated, and Innovative”.
During the conference, several significant research outcomes were announced, including the 2025 White Paper on the New Energy Storage Industry Development, the 2025 White Paper on Industrial Green Microgrids, the 2025 Tender and Price Analysis Report for New Energy Storage Projects, and the 2025 Analysis Report on Typical Applications and Development Trends of New Energy Storage. Among these, the 2025 White Paper on Industrial Microgrid Development (hereinafter referred to as the “Report”) was edited by the China Chemical and Physical Power Industry Association, written by the research team of its Energy Storage Application Branch, and supported academically by the Expert Committee of the Association.
The Report analyzes and outlines the development status of the new energy storage industry in 2025 across ten aspects: current development, policy review, industry standards, technical aspects, model analysis, economic analysis, market situation, typical projects, significance and prospects of development, and development recommendations.
1. Current Development
The Report indicates that the industrial green microgrid is undergoing a process of commercialization and scaling. The industry is gradually shifting from being primarily policy-driven to being market-driven, with ongoing advancements in microgrid technology. The mechanisms related to this are continuously being improved. While foreign research and application of microgrid technology are leading, with several demonstration projects established, such as the Mad River Microgrid in the USA and the Mannheim Residential Demonstration Project in Germany, domestic research is keeping pace. Universities like Tianjin University and Tsinghua University have made significant strides in areas like microgrid planning, operation, and simulation, with increasing demonstration projects such as the Shanghai Pudong International Airport Energy Center and the Beijing Gas Group Combined Heat and Power Project.
2. Policy Review
The Report notes that national and local governments have introduced a series of significant policies regarding industrial green microgrids, covering aspects such as the electricity market, standard construction, industry development, and technological innovation. For instance, in January 2024, the Guidelines for Strengthening the Construction of Peak Shaving Energy Storage and Intelligent Dispatching Capabilities emphasized the importance of microgrid construction. In March 2024, the Guidance on Accelerating the Green Development of Manufacturing encouraged the establishment of industrial green microgrids in industrial parks. By July 2024, the Action Plan for Accelerating the Construction of a New Power System (2024-2027) proposed the need for smart microgrid projects tailored to local conditions. Local policies are also being detailed, with provinces like Shandong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang specifying the ratio of distributed photovoltaic power to storage, and various areas introducing incentive measures such as capacity subsidies and discharge subsidies.
3. Industry Standards
The Report highlights that this year, the standard system for industrial microgrids is becoming more comprehensive, achieving significant progress in standard construction. More than ten national and industry standards have been officially published or implemented. Standards have been established, particularly in areas such as microgrid planning, design, operation control, and energy management. Existing standards include Technical Regulations for Microgrid Access to Power Systems (GB/T 33589-2017), Microgrid Engineering Design Standards (GB/T 51341-2018), and Technical Specifications for Microgrid Energy Management Systems (GB/T 36274-2018). However, the Report identifies gaps in safety standards, qualification assessment systems, and operational mode standards, indicating a need for a unified coordination mechanism. The standards currently cover engineering design, access requirements, and operational control, but the system is still incomplete. There is a lack of risk assessment and reliability requirements in safety standards, and a qualification assessment system has not yet been established. Experience from demonstration projects has not effectively fed back into standard formulation. The operational model standards for industrial green microgrids remain absent, and different application scenarios lack differentiated technical requirements.
4. Technical Aspects
The Report states that key technologies for industrial microgrids mainly include planning and design, system equipment, operation control and protection, energy management, modeling and simulation, and evaluation management. Technologies such as load forecasting, system design, and multi-objective optimization are widely applied to enhance system economics. Equipment like distributed generation (photovoltaics, wind power), energy storage systems (lithium batteries, sodium batteries, flow batteries), and power electronics (inverters, smart terminals) are gradually maturing. Networked energy storage technologies and adaptive fault isolation techniques contribute to the stable operation of microgrids, while micro-energy regulation technologies enhance grid coordination capabilities. Power forecasting accuracy has improved to minute-level precision, integrating optimized scheduling with electricity market trading.
5. Model Analysis
The Report suggests that the business models and market mechanisms of industrial microgrids are gradually maturing. Energy storage projects within the grid can operate under flexible and reliable strategies based on specific project conditions, such as local electricity prices, industry promotion policies, characteristics of the power system, and load profiles. Currently, the operational strategies and profit models for energy storage projects in microgrids include peak-valley arbitrage, demand response, distributed energy absorption, virtual power plants, and distribution enhancement. Peak-valley arbitrage is a primary profit model, with price differences exceeding 1 yuan/kWh in multiple locations, yielding an internal rate of return (IRR) of 14%-21%. Demand response and virtual power plant models are also being piloted in various areas, with revenue-sharing mechanisms gradually improving. The development model mainly adopts the EMC model, allowing investors and owners to share profits, thereby reducing initial cost pressures. Financing leasing models introduce third-party funding to alleviate cash flow pressure and expedite project implementation.
6. Economic Analysis
The Report indicates that in 2024, there were 174 newly added microgrid projects for energy storage/photovoltaic storage/distributed photovoltaic power across the country, with a total installed capacity of 485.01 MW/1284.62 MWh and a total investment exceeding 2.7 billion yuan. The Report assesses project returns through methods such as time-of-use electricity pricing policies, load curve analysis, and investment economic indicators. Under the time-of-use electricity pricing mechanism, energy storage users can save on electricity costs by charging during off-peak hours and using electricity during peak hours. As the domestic time-of-use electricity pricing mechanism improves and the price difference between peak and valley expands, the economic viability of energy storage becomes apparent. The Report notes that with the rapid decline in energy storage equipment prices, the EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) total package price has also significantly decreased. For example, as of the end of 2024, the EPC bidding price for a typical independent energy storage project (not including the booster station) of 100 MW/200 MWh is around 1.05 yuan/Wh, compared to approximately 1.4 yuan/Wh at the end of 2023, reflecting a year-on-year average price drop of about 25%. The Report states that with the continued improvement of the electricity market pricing mechanism, the investment IRR of industrial park microgrid energy storage projects is gradually increasing. In more developed regions like Zhejiang, Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Shanghai, the economic viability of industrial park microgrid energy storage projects has become quite high. In 2024, the return rates for industrial park microgrid energy storage projects in several provinces were considerable, with Zhejiang exceeding 26% and Guangdong at 17.62%.
7. Market Situation
The Report indicates that in 2024, there were 174 newly added microgrid projects for energy storage/photovoltaic storage/distributed photovoltaic power across the country, with a total installed capacity of 485.01 MW/1284.62 MWh and a total investment exceeding 2.7 billion yuan. The main installation areas are North China, Northwest, and East China, with Inner Mongolia (94.05 MW) and Xinjiang (87.7 MW) leading in scale. Guangdong has the most projects, totaling 31. The Report highlights that application scenarios are becoming increasingly diverse, primarily including off-grid microgrids, energy storage/photovoltaic storage microgrids, and distributed photovoltaic/wind power microgrids. By the end of 2024, the cumulative installed capacity of energy storage/photovoltaic storage microgrids accounted for 18%, while distributed photovoltaic/wind power microgrids represented 66%, and off-grid microgrids made up 16%. The Report also notes that lithium iron phosphate battery storage remains dominant in the short term. Beyond lithium iron phosphate batteries, various technological routes are emerging, particularly sodium-ion batteries, flow batteries, and flywheel energy storage, which are gaining market attention and show promising development prospects.
8. Typical Projects
The Report points out that multiple regions have initiated large-scale demonstration constructions and lists several existing domestic microgrid typical experimental systems and demonstration projects.
9. Significance and Future Prospects
The Report emphasizes that industrial green microgrids are critical for achieving green and low-carbon transformation in industrial energy consumption and supporting carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals. It states that the development of industrial green microgrids will become a crucial part of China’s electricity market reform. By integrating distributed photovoltaics, energy storage systems, and intelligent control technologies, microgrids can optimize energy allocation and reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. The Report mentions that the complete hardware forms of energy storage and photovoltaic systems provide technical support for the development of industrial green microgrids. The acceleration of the electricity market trading system provides a mechanism guarantee for their development, while clear profit models offer an economic foundation.
In the future, microgrids will deeply integrate with other intelligent systems such as smart cities and intelligent transportation, creating a more intelligent, green, and sustainable energy ecosystem.
10. Development Recommendations
The Report makes several recommendations: first, strengthen top-level institutional design, improve management mechanisms, optimize approval processes, clarify review conditions and standards, and ensure microgrid projects have self-scheduling and optimization capabilities. Second, establish and improve the standard system, promote breakthroughs in key technologies, especially in system integration, and refine technical specifications for critical equipment, information management, and system optimization in microgrids. Additionally, clarify the main role of microgrids in the electricity market, improve the market environment, and include industrial green microgrids in special electricity planning to ensure clear responsibilities and rights as independent market entities. Lastly, accelerate the construction and application of industrial green microgrids, promoting energy-saving and carbon reduction transformations at the consumption end to meet the growing demand for industrial green microgrid construction.
