Tiantai Pumped Storage Power Station in East China’s Zhejiang Province Photo: CMG

China’s largest single-unit-capacity pumped-storage hydropower station was successfully connected to the national grid and began generating electricity on Thursday, marking another major breakthrough in the country’s development of large-scale hydropower equipment and engineering capabilities.

The first generating unit of the Tiantai Pumped Storage Power Station in East China’s Zhejiang Province — the country’s largest by single-unit capacity — was connected to the grid and put into operation, China Media Group reported on Thursday. The project comprises of four generating units of 425,000 kilowatts each, giving a total installed capacity of 1.7 million kilowatts.

Once fully operational, the station will play a key role in peak shaving, valley filling, frequency and voltage regulation, energy storage and emergency backup for the Zhejiang power grid, providing strong support for enhancing the flexibility of dispatching and ensuring the stable operation of the eastern China region’s power system.

The power station is a key project under China’s 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), with total investment exceeding 10 billion yuan ($1.42 billion).

Global Times