The world's tallest pumped-storage hydropower station, the State Grid Xinyuan Jurong Pumped-Storage Power Station in east China's Jiangsu Province, officially began full operation on Tuesday.
Located in Jurong City, the plant is equipped with six 225-megawatt reversible pump-turbine generator units, giving it a total installed capacity of 1.35 million kilowatts. It is expected to generate 1.35 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, enough to power around 360,000 households for a year.
"Once fully operational, the station can provide about 2.7 million kilowatts of bidirectional power regulation capacity. It will save around 140,000 tons of standard coal and cut carbon dioxide emissions by roughly 349,000 tons a year. This will help ensure energy supply and promote the green, low-carbon transition in the Yangtze River delta region," said Wang Chenhui, director of the Development Department, State Grid Zhenjiang Power Supply Company.
The plant's upper reservoir dam stands 182.3 meters tall, making it the highest dam of any pumped-storage power station in the world. With a storage capacity of 17.07 million cubic meters -- equivalent to about 1.2 times the volume of Hangzhou's West Lake -- it marks another world-class engineering achievement. "The Jurong project has set multiple industry records and achieved technological breakthroughs in areas such as geomembrane seepage control and the installation of ultra-large spherical valves. It serves as a model for developing pumped-storage plants in high-load, low-elevation regions across China," said Chen Hongchun, board chairman of State Grid Xinyuan Jurong Pumped-Storage Co., Ltd.
As of now, China's total commissioned pumped-storage capacity has exceeded 62 million kilowatts, meeting the "14th Five-Year Plan" (2021-2025) target ahead of schedule and providing a solid foundation for the country's new-type power system.
China’s tallest pumped-storage power station begins full operation in Jiangsu
