State Grid begins building 2 pumped storage projects

State Grid Corp of China started construction of two pumped storage projects on Thursday in Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces to push forward the country's green energy transition.

The two projects -- Taishun pumped storage project in Zhejiang and Fengxin pumped storage project in Jiangxi -- have a combined total installed capacity of 2.4 million kilowatts. With total investment of more than 14.77 billion yuan ($2.33 billion), the two projects are expected to be put into operation by 2030, said the company.

Pumped storage hydropower is the most common type of energy storage in use today. It saves excess power by using it to pump water from a lower reservoir to an upper one at night when electricity demand is low and releasing it to generate power during the day when demand is high.

State Grid, the largest power provider in the country, said it constructed 23 pumped storage hydropower stations during the 13th Five-Year-Plan period (2016-20) with a total installed capacity of 30.93 million kW and a total investment of almost 180 billion yuan.

As many as seven pumped storage projects are already in operation with a total installed capacity of 7.65 million kW, it said.

zhengxin@chinadaily.com.cn