Featured in Mountains to climb – 05-2026

Reshaping storage revenue in Shandong

China’s pioneering electricity spot market offers a case study on what market liberalization might mean for the country’s energy storage revenues. Storage mandates are out and markets are in. With the additional support of a new capacity mechanism, Yujia Han examines what it might mean for standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) revenues.

By

pv magazine

11 May 2026

Batteries in white containers, with solar panels in the background.

A shift in China’s energy policy has dramatically changed the revenue model for battery storage, opening up revenue opportunities from capacity payments, arbitrage, and ancillary services. | Image: JinkoSolar

China’s standalone energy storage sector was built on a policy guarantee. Independent storage operators could count on contracted leasing fees from renewable developers under co-location mandates. This has changed with China’s Document No. 136 (DN136), a market liberalization policy introduced in February 2025. There is no mandate for solar or wind projects to co-locate with …

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