The upper reservoir of the 1.4GW Pingjiang pumped storage project in Hunan Province, central China, has officially begun impounding water following completion of the reservoir acceptance process.
The milestone enables the project to move into the next phase of development, including equipment installation, testing and preparation for commissioning of the first generating unit.
Located in Pingjiang County in Hunan Province, the project is the largest pumped storage hydropower facility currently under construction in the province. The scheme has a total investment of RMB8.8bn(approximately US$1.2bn) and will be equipped with four 350MW reversible pump-turbine units.
Once operational, the plant will provide a range of grid support services, including peak shaving, energy storage and reserve capacity, helping to integrate larger volumes of variable renewable generation into the regional power system.
The upper reservoir is formed by a 52.5m-high asphalt-core rockfill dam and has a storage capacity of 7.15 million cubic metres. The reservoir infrastructure also includes spillway and water intake structures.
Construction of the project has been complicated by mountainous terrain, frequent heavy rainfall and fog, as well as challenging geological conditions that increased the complexity of foundation works and site logistics.
According to the project team, construction planning and resource deployment were adjusted to respond to changing weather and ground conditions, while continuous site operations and monitoring helped maintain progress and meet safety and quality requirements.
Completion of the impoundment stage is expected to support the project’s remaining construction activities and keep the development on track for commissioning.
