The largest pumped storage hydroelectric power station in Zhejiang's Yong Shaozhou region has been fully commissioned for power generation

The largest "green energy storage facility" in the Yong Shaozhou region (Ningbo-Shaoxing-Zhoushan area) of Zhejiang Province has been fully commissioned, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 360,000 tons annually. On May 8, Unit4 of the first large-scale pumped storage power station in the Yong Shaozhou region – the State Grid XinYuan Ninghai Pumped Storage Power Station in Zhejiang Province was put into operation, marking the full commissioning of the power station for power generation.

The State Grid XinYuan Ninghai Pumped Storage Power Station is located in Ninghai County, Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province. Adjacent to the load center of Shanghai-Hangzhou-Ningbo and the eastern coastal 10 million kilowatt-level new energy base, it is a key construction project under the National Energy Administration's 13th Five-Year Plan and a key project of Zhejiang Province.

Pumped storage power stations utilize the conversion between kinetic and potential energy to store energy and generate electricity. During low electricity load periods, they use the excess electricity in the system from the grid to pump water from the lower reservoir to the upper reservoir, converting it into potential energy for storage. During peak electricity load periods, they release the water from the upper reservoir to the lower reservoir, converting the potential energy back into electricity for generation.

This power station has a total installed capacity of 1.4 million kilowatts, equipped with 4 reversible pump-turbine generator units. It is designed to achieve an annual average power generation of 1.4 billion kilowatt-hours and annual pumping power consumption of 1.867 billion kilowatt-hours.It can save approximately 180,000 tons of coal consumption and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 360,000 tons annually.

Chao Xingang, from the Operation Department of State Grid XinYuan Zhejiang Ninghai Pumped Storage Power said, "During the construction process, we applied the  applied domestically leading vegetation concrete re-greening technology to achieve full slope greening before the completion of the main project. We also used the world's first large-diameter, deep vertical shaft hard rock tunnel boring machine, full-face hard rock tunnel boring machine, and pressure pipe automatic welding robot. Additionally,We meticulously built a 'one-stop' safety education and training center and an intelligent infrastructure control center, providing a 'Zhejiang solution' for the mechanized construction and intelligent control of the hydropower industry."

State Grid Zhejiang Electric Power Company fully cooperated in the construction of the outgoing project, connecting to the 500-kilovolt Mingzhou Substation with two 500-kilovolt transmission circuits to integrate into the East China Power Grid. A total of 178 new transmission towers were built and 152.3 kilometers of  transmission lines were erected. Upon full commissioning, the power station's bidirectional power regulation capacity will reach 2.8 million kilowatts, further improving the power source structure of the East China Power Grid and providing safe, reliable, flexible, efficient, and clean power supply. This will effectively enhance the consumption level of wind power, photovoltaic power, and other renewable energy sources in Zhejiang Province and the East China region, promote energy structure optimization, and support Zhejiang in achieving its "double carbon" goals.

"Marking that Ningbo Power Grid now has a large-scale regulation power source, the power source structure has become more complete, and the proportion of clean energy in the grid has increased from 6.87 percent to 7.37 percent," said Li Chaosun from the Development and Construction Department of State Grid Ninghai County Power Supply Company. The "green content" of the power grid has been further enhanced. 

The flexible regulation capacity of the power station can attract more new energy industry chain enterprises to settle in Zhejiang, forming a virtuous cycle of "attracting investment with green energy and driving industrial development with investment.". At the same time, as an important regulation hub of the East China Power Grid, it can significantly reduce the economic losses caused by power shortages during peak load periods each year, providing a solid guarantee for the high-quality development of the regional economy.

As a province with limited energy resources, Zhejiang must make the best use of every kilowatt-hour of electricity it generates, and it relies on these "green energy storage facility". In recent years, Zhejiang has witnessed a boom in pumped storage investment and construction, with 17 key projects under implementation, totaling 21.7 million kilowatts of installed capacity. Currently, the installed capacity of pumped storage in operation and under construction ranks first in the country. It is expected that by 2035, the total installed capacity of pumped storage in the province will reach 28.38 million kilowatts.