Between mountains and rivers, green energy surges. The “Outline of the Fifteenth Five-Year Plan for the People’s Republic of China National Economic and Social Development” proposes to “strengthen the construction of new energy infrastructure” and make arrangements for “scientific layout of pumped storage.
As a key state-owned enterprise fulfilling the national strategic mission, the State Grid Corporation of China will accelerate the construction of pumped storage power stations during the “15th Five-Year Plan” period, continue to strengthen key core technology research, and plan new construction and new production. The installed capacity of pumped storage exceeds 30 million kilowatts. In the next five years, the landing of the two “30 million kilowatts” will further support the construction of new power systems, promote the green transformation of energy, drive the development of the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain, and inject green kinetic energy into building an energy power and achieving the goal of carbon peak.
more than 110 units will be put into operation in the next five years, significantly enhancing the system regulation capability
in recent years, China has accelerated the energy transformation and focused on building a new power system, and new energy has shown a rapid development trend. As of the end of February, the country’s cumulative installed power generation capacity reached 3.95 billion kilowatts, of which the installed capacity of solar power generation was 1.23 billion kilowatts and the installed capacity of wind power was 0.65 billion kilowatts. The proportion of new energy power generation installations continues to increase, putting forward higher requirements for the security and stability of the power system. Regulation of resources has become a new type of power system construction “just need”.
As the “stabilizer” and “regulator” of the power system, pumped storage is the long-term power energy storage with the most mature technology, the best economy, and the most large-scale development conditions. It has peak regulation, Frequency modulation, phase modulation, energy storage, system backup, black start and other functions play an important role in ensuring power supply and promoting new energy consumption. At present, the company has more than 45 million kilowatts of pumped storage capacity under construction, nearly 49 million kilowatts of installed capacity under construction, and 37 pumped storage power stations under construction, more than half of which are distributed in load center areas such as East China and Central China.
in April, the construction of the new source Anhui Tongcheng pumped storage power station project in the Dabie mountain area was further accelerated. the construction personnel kept a close eye on the key nodes of unit installation, efficiently promoted the construction of upper and lower reservoirs, underground powerhouses and other working surfaces, and strived to complete the installation and commissioning of the first unit by the end of the year. “At present, the overall construction of the project has been completed by 70%, and the main construction is progressing steadily.” State Grid Xinyuan Anhui Tongcheng Pumped Storage Co., Ltd. Deputy Director of the Engineering Department Liu Chao introduced.
By the end of 2025, the installed capacity of new energy power generation in Anhui Province will reach 67 million kilowatts, accounting for 46.6 percent of the province’s total installed capacity. As an important peak shaving power source for Anhui Power Grid, Tongcheng Pumped Storage Power Station plans to install 4 320000-kilowatt reversible water pump hydrogenerators with a total installed capacity of 1.28 million kilowatts. After the power station is completed and put into operation, it will further optimize the power supply structure of East China Power Grid and Anhui Power Grid, improve the voltage level of the power grid, improve the quality of power supply, and ensure the safe and reliable operation of the power grid.
“the 15th five-year plan period is the critical period of energy transformation and the closing period of achieving carbon peak. China has accelerated the promotion of new electricity consumption covered by new clean energy, and the characteristics of high proportion of new energy and high proportion of power electronic equipment in the power system are more prominent. As a high-quality regulation resource, the accelerated construction of pumped storage power stations will further meet the increasingly complex and diverse regulation needs of new power systems, better ensure reliable power supply, and promote green energy transformation.” Yu Xianhua, deputy secretary-general of the pumped storage industry branch of the China Hydropower Engineering Society, said.
The outline of the “Fifteenth Five-Year Plan” proposes to “build a number of pumped storage power stations in areas with good site resources and high demand for load regulation, with an additional installed capacity of about 0.1 billion kilowatts”. In the next five years, the company will speed up the construction of a number of pumped storage power stations in Hami, Xinjiang and Mengyin, Shandong, and put into operation more than 110 pumped storage units in Luoning, Henan and Yixian, Hebei, with an installed capacity of more than 30 million kilowatts. This will provide more reliable adjustment resource support for large-scale and high proportion of new energy such as wind power and photovoltaic power generation to be connected to the power system.
“it is estimated that by 2030, the installed capacity of pumped storage in operation of the state grid will exceed 78 million kilowatts, which can provide over 0.15 billion kilowatts of power regulation capacity, up more than 70% from the end of the 14th five-year plan.” Wang Shengjun, deputy director (deputy general manager) of the State Grid’s pumping division (Xinyuan Group, Xinyuan Holdings), said.
Strengthen the new generation of pumped storage technology to better meet the needs of new power system construction
High-quality development of pumped storage requires both expansion of installed capacity and improvement of scientific and technological content. During the “Fifteenth Five-Year Plan” period, the company will continue to deepen the key core technologies of pumped storage, accelerate the development of new quality productivity, and better meet the needs of power system regulation.
The development and application of large-scale variable-speed pumped storage units is a major focus of China’s pumped storage technology innovation. Compared with the conventional constant speed unit, the variable speed unit has the advantages of adjustable power of water pump working condition, wider adjustment range, faster response speed and higher operation efficiency. The National Energy Administration included complete sets of 300 MW variable speed pumped storage units in the list of the first (sets) of major technical equipment projects in the energy field in 2021.
In Shandong, the Tai’an Phase II Pumped Storage Power Station under construction undertakes the important task of landing complete sets of equipment for 300 MW variable speed pumped storage units. “Of the six pumped storage units in the power station, two will use domestic 300 MW variable speed pumped storage units. We will join forces with equipment manufacturers such as Harbin Electric and Dongfang Electric to jointly promote the smooth implementation of the project.” State Grid Xinyuan Shandong Taishan Pumped Storage Co., Ltd. Director of Mechanical and Electrical Department Zhang Xike said.
“In recent years, my country has continuously made new progress in the research and development of large-scale variable-speed pumped storage units and the application of advanced construction equipment.” In Yu Xianhua’s view, in the next five years, continuous efforts should be made around the new generation of pumped storage technology and equipment innovation, focusing on key areas such as planning and site selection, survey and design, engineering construction, equipment manufacturing, and operation and maintenance regulation. Upgrade, full-life optimization and coordination, full-scene technology integration, and full-chain digital intelligence empowerment, accelerate the development of new quality productivity, and better promote the high-quality development of pumped storage.
The transformation of digital intelligence is an important direction for the innovation and development of pumped storage. The company continues to deepen the application of artificial intelligence and other technologies, strengthen the whole process of digital intelligence, to build a safe, efficient, green and intelligent pumped storage power station. The pumped storage project planned to start during the “15th Five-Year Plan” period will coordinate the construction of digital power stations to realize the digital control of the entire process from the design source to the completion and commissioning.
“as the company’s direct unit for intensive and specialized development, construction and operation of green regulated power supply, we will speed up the construction of group and provincial (regional) two-level operation control centers, continuously deepen the deep integration of digital technology and pumped storage production and operation business, and further promote the optimization of pumped storage management mode, the transformation of business intelligence and the improvement of operation quality and efficiency.” State Grid Xinyuan Group Science and Technology Information Department Director Chang Yuhong introduced.
Under the background of the “double carbon” target, the construction of the new power system is further promoted, which puts forward higher requirements for the innovation of the new generation of pumped storage technology. “In the next five years, we will adhere to the demand-oriented, focus on the cutting-edge technology of green regulation power supply, the key supporting technology of digital intelligent transformation, and the technology of safe and stable economic operation. We will continue to strengthen scientific and technological research, promote the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, and provide more powerful scientific and technological support for the high-quality development of pumped storage.” Chang Yuhong said.
plans to invest 31 billion yuan this year to actively help stabilize employment, stabilize enterprises, stabilize market expectations
pumped storage projects have large investment scale, long industrial chain and strong driving effect. During the “Tenth Five-Year Plan” period, the company’s pumped storage projects will be “launched” in batches, which will further play the role of investment in major energy infrastructure, drive the common development of upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial chain, and better help stabilize employment, stabilize enterprises, stabilize the market, and stabilize expectations.
Recently, the State Grid Xinyuan Hebei Yixian Pumped Storage Power Station completed the commissioning of Unit 2, and various construction tasks of the project proceeded in an orderly manner. The total investment of this pumped storage power station with an installed capacity of 1.2 million kilowatts exceeds 8 billion yuan, which can drive the investment in the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain to about 16 billion yuan.
Yixian pumped storage power station is surveyed and designed by Beijing Survey and Design Institute Co., Ltd. of China Power Construction Group. Liu Lin, the company’s marketing manager, said: “The development of pumped storage has entered its peak period, bringing rare development opportunities to upstream and downstream enterprises in the industry chain. In recent years, we have undertaken the survey and design work of more than 10 pumped storage power stations such as Funing, Shangzhi and Zhuanghe of the State Grid, and have achieved ‘double growth’ in order volume and operating income for many years in a row ‘.”
On March 31, the State Grid Xinyuan Shandong Mengyin Duozhuang Pumped Storage Power Station Project was approved by the Shandong Provincial Development and Reform Commission. This is the company’s first approved pumped storage project during the “15th Five-Year Plan” period. “This year, we plan to complete the investment of 31 billion yuan in pumped storage, and strive to achieve the development goal of” putting into production over 3 million kilowatts “and” approved to start construction over 6 million kilowatts.” Chen Weiyong, director (director) of the pre-planning department (development planning department) of the State Grid’s pumping and storage division (Xinyuan Group and Xinyuan Holding), said that these investments will effectively promote the coordinated development of enterprises such as power supply, electrical equipment, energy-using equipment and raw materials, and drive the investment in the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain to exceed 60 billion yuan.
The acceleration of the construction of pumped storage power stations will not only help boost confidence in industrial development, but also help further stabilize employment. At the construction site of the State Grid Xinyuan Hami Pumped Storage Power Station in Xinjiang, Ablimiti Axopa, a villager in Erdaogou Village, Tianshan Township, Yizhou District, Hami City, is full of energy. “In the past, I went out to work to earn money, but now I build a power station at my doorstep. The income is more stable and the days are getting better.” Ablimiti said that in the past two years, many villagers have been engaged in canteen services and vehicle driving at the power station construction site.
It is understood that at present, the company has more than 1200 on-site working surfaces for the construction of pumped storage power stations, with about 36000 people working at the same time during the peak period, many of whom come from villages and towns around the area where the power station is located.
Focusing on the development goals of the “15th Five-Year Plan”, the company scientifically optimized the layout of pumped storage, strengthened key core technology research, and accelerated the construction of new power systems. Between green waters and green mountains, pumped storage power stations will further ensure the safety of power grid operation, promote the consumption and utilization of new energy, and help the comprehensive green transformation of the economy and society with a more stable and clean power supply.
