The integrated photovoltaic, energy storage, and charging technology is poised for explosive growth in 2026.

Charging station electricity prices are one-third lower than other charging stations on the market?! This amazing thing has truly happened at the "Wind-Solar-Storage-Charging" smart energy integrated demonstration charging station in Nanjing Jiangning High-tech Zone.

Last year, the "Wind-Solar-Storage-Charging" smart energy integrated demonstration charging station in the High-tech Zone officially went into operation, containing a total of 9 charging spaces. Unlike traditional charging stations, this integrated demonstration station combines the advantages of green energy and Energy Storage. The entire system consists of three parts: wind and solar green energy, energy storage, and charging piles, combined with anenergy management and control system to achieve multi-energy complementarity, stable and efficient, and environmentally friendly energy utilization.

On-site, you can see that the solar Photovoltaic Panelscovering the roof of the charging station's vehicle canopy are absorbing Solar Energy, and the wind turbines are constantly turning in the breeze.

When the demonstration station is operating, electricity generated by wind and solar power is prioritized for use by the charging piles. Surplus electricity is used to charge energy storage devices, which are then used to discharge to the outside world when needed by the charging piles. Simultaneously, off-peak electricity can be used to charge the energy storage, which is then discharged to power the charging piles during peak hours, achieving the goal of energy conservation, environmental protection, and low carbon emissions for the entire system.

In terms of scheduling, the smart energy operation and management platform built by the project's investor, Duolun Technology, can analyze system capacity, peak and off-peak electricity prices, and load demand to configure optimal charging and discharging strategies, achieving visualized, intelligent, and unmanned energy management of the charging station.

It is understood that the electricity price at this demonstration charging station is currently one-third lower than that of other charging stations on the market.

The "Wind-Solar-Storage-Charging" smart energy integrated demonstration charging station in Jiangning High-tech Zone actually embodies a new charging concept that has gained increasing popularity in recent years—the integrated photovoltaic-storage-charging system. As the name suggests, this is a charging mode that integrates photovoltaic power generation, energy storage, and vehicle charging, with each component coordinating and supporting the other.

The application scenarios of the integrated photovoltaic-storage-charging system are not limited to charging stations.

In industrial parks, the integrated photovoltaic-storage-charging model can provide industrial enterprises with self-generated and self-consumed clean energy. Combined with energy storage systems and electricity pricing strategies, it effectively reduces energy costs.

Some highly intelligent communities also deploy small-scale integrated photovoltaic-storage-charging systems to provide green electricity to residents and support electric vehicle charging.

In some remote areas not yet covered by the power grid, integrated photovoltaic-storage-charging systems can function as independent power systems, supplying electricity to residents and facilities.

Of course, the most widely used and potentially largest market application is currently the integrated photovoltaic-storage-charging station scenario.

In recent years, with the accelerating construction of photovoltaic, energy storage, new energy vehicles, and charging infrastructure, the "photovoltaic + energy storage + charging" combination has been increasingly applied to the market. Local state-owned assets play a major investment role in this process.

This is partly due to the high efficiency and low carbon footprint of the integrated photovoltaic-storage-charging model, which is favored by government departments and considered a key direction for future charging station development.

Fangda Consulting, an expert in the urban investment industry, points out that integrated energy, especially the wind-solar-storage-charging integrated model, has become a new focus for the business transformation of urban investment companies. The city investment company chose this field to respond to the national energy strategy, promote the construction of ecological civilization demonstration cities, accelerate its own market-oriented transformation, and enhance its competitiveness.

On the other hand, in recent years, many local governments have launched large-scale photovoltaic-storage-charging station construction plans. For example, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Fuzhou, and Beijing have all explicitly proposed building "supercharging cities" or "supercharging capitals," while Hainan is committed to building a "supercharging island." Taking Chongqing as an example, its plan is to build more than four times the current number of supercharging stations by 2025.

The construction of supercharging stations is closely linked to the integration of photovoltaic, energy storage, and charging. Because high-power fast charging piles operate at full power, the load is enormous, not only causing pulse impacts on the power grid but also potentially exceeding the capacity of distribution network transformers. To solve this problem, compared to the costly upgrades to transformers and lines, the integration of photovoltaic, energy storage, and charging is the most economical and effective way to achieve supercharging. Therefore, in many supercharging demonstration projects, supercharging stations generally adopt the integrated energy storage and charging model.

In summary, in recent years, the national and local governments have issued various policy documents to encourage and support the deep integration of solar power generation, energy storage technology, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Driven by a series of incentive policies and active investment from urban investment companies, the integrated photovoltaic-energy storage-charging industry has experienced rapid development. Across the country, integrated photovoltaic-energy storage-charging power station projects are constantly being started or put into operation, with numerous "first" and "largest" projects emerging.

On March 1, 2025, the first "photovoltaic-storage-charging" supercharging station in the Shenzhen-Shantou area officially went into operation. This supercharging demonstration station covers an area of ​​approximately 140 square meters, with 8 parking spaces. It is equipped with a 636kW integrated photovoltaic-storage-charging main unit, combining photovoltaic power generation, energy storage, and charging output functions, serving as the "central nervous system" of the entire supercharging station system.

It is understood that the high-efficiency solar power generation system equipped in the station has a conversion efficiency of up to 22%, generating approximately 120 kWh per hour under sufficient sunlight. Part of this electricity is directly supplied to the charging equipment, meeting about 30% of the station's daily charging power needs, effectively reducing dependence on the traditional power grid; the other part is stored in the supporting energy storage device.

According to calculations, during the peak summer electricity consumption period, from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM daily, the power grid faces significant pressure and electricity prices are high. During this time, the energy storage system at the demonstration station can supply power to the charging equipment, meeting 60% of the station's electricity demand and effectively reducing electricity costs.

On May 16, 2024, Hainan's first integrated photovoltaic-storage-charging low-carbon service area demonstration site was unveiled in Sanya. Located in Baoting Li and Miao Autonomous County, Hainan Province, the service area boasts abundant solar resources. Combined with Huawei's intelligent photovoltaic-storage solution and fully liquid-cooled supercharging technology, photovoltaic power generation can meet 40% of the service area's daily charging needs, effectively reducing reliance on the traditional power grid. Currently, the service area has essentially achieved zero-carbon operation.

In June 2024, Shanghai's first integrated photovoltaic-storage-charging station for electric vehicles was completed in Kuangxiang No. 2 Village, Jiangqiao Town, Jiading District. The on-site photovoltaic power generation system has an installed capacity of 50kW, generating approximately 45,000 kWh of electricity annually, successfully reducing charging costs by about 30%. Through photovoltaic and energy storage technologies, it provides residents with affordable and convenient charging and battery swapping services.

The Kunming Hongta East Road integrated energy station, which began operation in August 2024, features a 0.29 MW distributed photovoltaic power station, generating approximately 900 kWh of clean energy daily, enough to charge about 18 new energy vehicles.

The commissioning of a series of integrated supercharging demonstration stations has provided valuable experience for similar projects in other regions. In recent years, with continuous technological advancements and gradual cost reductions, the integrated photovoltaic, energy storage, and charging model has been increasingly widely promoted and applied across the country.

As the market accelerates its expansion, vehicle manufacturers, equipment and operators, battery companies, and energy companies are actively investing in the vast market of integrated photovoltaic, energy storage, and charging. In July 2021, a supercharging station integrating photovoltaic, energy storage, and charging, jointly built by Smart Bay and Tesla, went online at the Smart Bay Science and Technology Innovation Park in Baoshan District, Shanghai. The station has six V3 superchargers and one destination charging station, equipped with a solar roof system and Powerwall energy storage batteries. After generating electricity through the solar roof system, the energy is stored in the Powerwall battery, ultimately providing daily charging for some pure electric vehicles.

In October 2022, the Ningde Lithium Battery Town's intelligent supercharging station integrating photovoltaic, energy storage, charging, and testing was completed and put into operation. This is the first standardized intelligent supercharging station in China to adopt full DC microgrid technology, integrating charging piles, energy storage, photovoltaic cells, and battery testing. Covering an area of ​​2100 square meters, it can simultaneously charge 20 new energy vehicles for approximately 200 kilometers of range within 7-8 minutes.

In August 2023, an integrated demonstration station for photovoltaic, energy storage, charging, discharging, and testing was completed and put into operation in Jiaozuo, Henan Province. This charging station, equipped and technically supported by Star Charge, integrates a photovoltaic power generation system, energy storage system, power battery (including liquid cooling) supercharging system, vehicle-to-grid bidirectional charging system, battery testing system, and comprehensive energy management platform. It is equipped with a 480kW liquid-cooled supercharging device, 360/480kW high-power split charging devices, and V2G bidirectional DC charging equipment. Service capacity: It can simultaneously provide charging services for 76 electric vehicles.

Furthermore, Xiaomi and its founder Lei Jun, who have recently become a hot topic online, have already made investments. Xiaomi Group's investment institutions, such as Xiaomi Technology and Xiaomi Yangtze River, have frequently invested in multiple fields including portable energy storage, batteries, battery materials, battery thermal management, and photovoltaic-energy storage-charging-testing systems.

In the charging field, Xiaomi has currently invested in mobile charging service provider Shitu Technology and photovoltaic-energy storage-charging-testing station service provider Kuaibu New Energy.

"Photovoltaic-energy storage-charging integration" is currently a hot sector in new energy, with many players emerging. So, what are the actual returns?

The project investment calculation is divided into photovoltaic power generation, energy storage, charging piles, and steel structure and grounding. Specific details are as follows: Taking lithium iron phosphate batteries as an example, there are currently 10 60kW charging piles with a total distribution capacity of 600kW. However, there are queues during peak charging periods, with a total demand of 1.2MW. Now, 10 new 60kW charging piles will be added, operating for 2 hours each night. During off-peak hours, the spare capacity of the power grid will be used to charge the energy storage batteries, with one charge and discharge cycle per day. Charging occurs during off-peak hours and discharging during peak hours, with the operator charging a service fee. Calculations show that the investment can be recovered in 5.86 years, with a net profit of 2,448,127.67 yuan over the entire cycle.

In the long term, with technological advancements, continuous cost reductions in energy storage and photovoltaic equipment, and increasingly mature business models, the diversified revenue streams of integrated photovoltaic-energy storage-charging projects will further expand, and the economic viability of project investment will continue to improve.

For example, in some regions with active electricity markets, charging stations with integrated energy storage can also participate in demand-side response and virtual power plant businesses, generating additional revenue. With the continuous advancement of power market reforms, the frequency and revenue of integrated photovoltaic, energy storage, and charging power stations participating in power transactions will further increase.