A power plant in east China's Suzhou City, Anhui Province, has installed two massive molten salt tanks, improving load following, steam supply, and grid stability at the aging facility.
Situated downtown, the two coal-fired units at Suzhou Power Plant have supplied both power and heat to the city's residents.
As Suzhou works toward carbon peaking and neutrality targets, the two units have been experiencing more frequent peak regulations, startups, and shutdowns, causing fluctuations in heat generation. This unstable steam supply has significantly affected power generation stability.
Mainly using ternary molten salt and designed with a thermal storage capacity of 1,000 megawatthours (MWhs), the two newly built giant molten salts tanks are expected to ensure original heat generation capacity, enhance load-following capability of the coal-fired units, and boost the transformation of the old power plant.
"Once the project is completed, the power generation units at the Suzhou Power Plant can achieve continuous heat supply for 4 hours while operating at full capacity. They can also ensure continuous heat supply for 5 hours even when operating at 30 percent of the rated load to achieve deep peak shaving. At the same time, its heat generation capacity will reach 410 tonnes per hour, which is 260 tonnes higher than the previous level," said Qiao Yancai, head of molten salt energy storage at the Suzhou Power Plant.
The project will help reduce standard coal consumption by 32,000 tonnes and cut carbon emissions by about 85,000 tonnes annually.
Molten salt energy storage revamps aging power plant in east China's Suzhou
China will issue 300 billion yuan (about 41.5 billion U.S. dollars) in ultra-long-term special government bonds this year to boost the trade-in of consumer goods nationwide, marking an increase of 150 billion yuan compared to the previous year.
A report on the 2024 central and local budget execution, as well as the 2025 draft budgets released Friday, highlights the country's focus on financial support to expand domestic demand and boost consumption.
To ensure the sustainability and stability of China's trade-in scheme, the central government has pre-allocated the first batch of funds amounting to 81 billion yuan (about 11.2 billion U.S. dollars) for consumer goods trade-ins.
The city of Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, has recently proposed to strengthen and expand support for the trade-in of consumer goods, extending the list of supported home appliance products to include AI smart glasses and robot vacuums.
Meanwhile, northeast China's Heilongjiang province allocated one billion yuan (about 138 million U.S. dollars) from ultra-long-term special government bond funds, supplemented by 50 million yuan (about 6.9 million U.S. dollars) in provincial matching funds for distribution across various regions.
In south China's Guangdong Province, local financial departments have recently received the pre-allocated funds and initiated a new round of intensified efforts to advance the consumer goods trade-in program.
"We have seamlessly optimized our services since the beginning of this year. The funding amount has increased, and the range of the trade-in program has expanded significantly at the same time. Last year was essentially the first year for the scheme, and this year we have broadened the scope of home appliance trade-ins," said Li Xiaobin, an official with the provincial Department of Finance.
According to the budget report, the application process for the subsidy will also be optimized, along with the establishment of a recycling and utilization system.
China allocates bond funds to boost consumer goods trade-in nationwide
