On December 16th, the People's Government of Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, issued a local standard titled "Technical Guidelines for Safety Risk Prevention and Control of Electrochemical Energy Storage Power Stations on the User Side of Industrial Enterprises in Changzhou (Draft for Comments)". The document specifies that it applies to the construction and operation of lithium-ion/sodium-ion battery (including solid-state batteries) energy storage systems and power stations with a voltage level of 0.4kV and above, a rated power of 500kW and above, and a rated energy of 1000 kWh and above.

At the end of the document, it is clearly stated that in terms of site selection and layout requirements, energy storage power stations should be independently set up within the factory area. The site selection within the factory area should maintain a corresponding safety distance from points with fire and explosion risks. Additionally, a corresponding safety distance should be set with densely populated areas, high-rise buildings, and flammable and explosive sites in and around the factory area.

This time, there are some differences in safety distances between the "Technical Guidelines for Safety Risk Prevention and Control of Electrochemical Energy Storage Power Stations on the User Side of Industrial Enterprises in Changzhou (Draft for Comments)" and the "Design Code for Electrochemical Energy Storage Power Stations" GB51048-2014, mainly reflected in the specific requirements for safety distances:

Changzhou Local Standard: This standard specifies the minimum safety distances between different types of energy storage power stations and risk areas. For example, the safety distance for large-scale energy storage from significant risk points (fire, explosion) is 50 meters, medium-scale is 50 meters, and small-scale is 50 meters; for densely populated areas and flammable and explosive sites outside the factory area, the safety distances are 30 meters, 15 meters, and 12 meters, respectively. Specific requirements are detailed in the table.

GB51048-2014: This standard also stipulates fire protection distances, but mainly focuses on fire protection distances between buildings and equipment, with specific values usually depending on the type and structure of the buildings.

Among them, the fire protection distances between lithium-ion and sodium-ion battery prefabricated cabins (cabinets) are regulated by the following national standards: The fire protection distance at the long edge end of walk-in types should not be less than 3 meters, and at the short edge end should not be less than 4 meters. For non-walk-in types, the fire protection distances at both the long and short edge ends should not be less than 3 meters. When separated by firewalls, fire protection distances are not required. The length and height of the firewall should extend beyond the outline of the prefabricated cabin by no less than 1 meter. The distance between lithium-ion and sodium-ion battery prefabricated cabins (cabinets) and external station roads should not be less than 3 meters, except at road turns. If there are difficulties, a firewall with a fire resistance rating of not less than 4 hours should be set between the battery prefabricated cabin and the external station road, and the distance between the battery prefabricated cabin and the external station road should not be less than 1 meter. The length and height of the firewall should extend beyond the outline of the prefabricated cabin by no less than 1 meter. As energy storage technology becomes more mature and costs gradually decrease, along with the continuous introduction of electricity price incentive policies, the number of medium and small-scale user-side energy storage projects is increasing, and the market demand for user-side energy storage projects is also rising. User-side energy storage projects have their unique deployment characteristics, mostly located in urban areas with high population density and relatively complex environments, making safety particularly important. Accidents such as the fire at the Gateway energy storage power station in California, USA, the lithium battery energy storage container fire in the commercial area of Nielmoell, Germany, and the industrial and commercial energy storage project fires in Wenzhou and Fengtai, Beijing, China, have all caused varying degrees of loss. Among the many energy storage technologies, relatively safe physical energy storage such as pumped hydro storage and compressed air energy storage, although mature, are limited by geographical conditions, high costs, and long construction periods, making it difficult to apply on a large scale in densely populated places and high-rise buildings. In contrast, flow batteries in electrochemical energy storage technology show many advantages. In densely populated areas, such as city centers, commercial areas, and residential areas, which consist of high-density building groups with many high-rise buildings and underground facilities, ground space is limited, and there is a high concentration of people and large fluctuations in electricity load. These areas require efficient energy storage systems to balance power supply and demand and support peak electricity usage, while also demanding high safety to protect people's lives and property. Flow batteries use aqueous electrolyte solutions, a characteristic that eliminates the risk of fire and explosion. Their power and capacity modules can be designed independently, allowing flexible deployment to avoid excessive land use, long service life to reduce maintenance and replacement costs, and to adapt to the diverse energy needs of densely populated areas. Therefore, flow batteries are the optimal choice for energy storage systems in densely populated areas with high safety requirements.

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