On 30 August, the 1000 MWh molten-salt thermal-storage project at CHN Energy’s Anhui Suzhou Power Plant successfully completed 168 hours of full-load trial operation and was formally commissioned. The project effectively resolves the long-standing “heat vs. power” dilemma faced by coal-fired cogeneration plants.
“Coal-fired molten-salt heat storage” can be likened to installing a “thermal power bank” on a coal unit: surplus heat is stored when the unit is lightly loaded and released during peak electricity or heat demand, eliminating waste and improving flexibility. The system uses two molten-salt tanks—one at 390 °C and one at 190 °C—with ternary molten salt as the storage medium, giving a total rated storage capacity of 1000 MWh.
Liao Shiwei, project manager for the molten-salt heat-storage project at CHN Energy Anhui Suzhou Power Plant, stated that the successful commissioning represents an innovative breakthrough in combined-heat-and-power technology. It enables the unit to supply full-rated heat continuously for four hours at full electrical load, and for five hours when the unit is deep-cycled to 30 % of rated output. External heat supply capacity has risen to 410 t/h—an increase of 260 t/h over the previous level.