A power storage utility has been built in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian, Liaoning Province, with the capacity to meet one day's electricity demand of some 200,000 people.

The first phase of the Dalian Flow Battery Energy Storage Peak-shaving Power Station has been connected to the power grid and is expected to be put into operation in October, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) on Thursday.

The utility has a storage capacity of 400,000 kWh, and it will be doubled to 800,000 kWh after an extension in the future, according to the CAS.

The project is based on the vanadium flow battery energy storage tech developed by the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) under the CAS, which is safe, reliable, enduring, recyclable and eco-friendly.

The station works like a reservoir of power. At electricity troughs, the batteries will be charged by renewable energy sources, and at peak-load hours, the chemical energy in them can transform into electricity for use.

"Given the volatile and intermittent generation of clean energy including wind and solar power, this project can increase clean energy utilization and ensure grid stability," said Li Xianfeng, deputy director of the DICP. （Xinhua）