What is being referred to as the world’s largest “water battery” is being launched in China. A pumped storage hydropower plant is the new hope for how power is thought about. This facility will look to shrink the gap between intermittent renewables and stable baseload power.
How China’s “water battery” will work
Pumped storage is the perfect failsafe to ensure electricity demands are always met. This safety net of sorts works when surplus energy is used to pump water uphill to an elevated reservoir when electricity demands are low. Once these rise, the water is driven downhill through turbines to generate electricity to meet the spike in demand.
The new plant flaunts a capacity of 3.6 gigawatts (GW) of power. Its real power is found in how it can support wind and solar projects, the perfect backing to renewables, a battery that uses water and gravity instead of chemicals. The plant has pumping turbines that can be used at varied speeds. By not having the speed fixed, these units can adjust flow when needed.
What this new plant in China will be able to deliver
Nestled in the mountains of Hebei province, the facility is called the Fengning Pumped Storage Power Station. China’s State Grid Corporation will operate this water battery that houses twelve reversible pump-turbine units. Each of these units is rated at 300 MW, and the final unit burst into life in August of 2024.
Construction of this plant has been arduous and on the go since June 2013. The second phase of construction saw the variable speed machines integrated to offer the dynamic capabilities this plant now boasts. 6.61 terawatt-hours (TWh) annually are expected to be produced by China’s latest plant. 8.71 TWh will be used for the pumping aspects. This plant is also located near a wind and solar project in Zhangjiakou to bolster the output of those projects.
China’s water battery and the benefits it will bring, despite the challenges it faces
Offering balance to the grid is this plant’s greatest strength. This will be of particular use in northern China. When solar and wind fail, the power from this battery is easily dispatched to meet demands. But as is the case with most undertakings of this nature, a few challenges lurk. The caverns constructed in unforgiving terrain took years of planning. Integrating the power from this battery into transmission lines hinges on water levels, with seasonal rainfalls playing a factor.
Despite that, the plant is already connected to the grid via four 500 kV transmission lines. This will aid in China’s concerted push to reduce emissions and lower dependence on coal.
Yet another Chinese blueprint for the world to follow
Yet again, the undertaking of a project of this magnitude by China is a two-pronged approach. There is the incredible ability of this water battery, as it were, and how it will support their expanding renewable projects, but then there is the statement that China is making. Once again, China is flexing its muscles when it comes to engineering and progressive thought when it comes to renewable energy.
China is using renewable energy to provide backup to renewable projects, looking to completely eradicate its reliance on coal. As the world contemplates how to go about reducing emissions, China seems to surge forward with a sure footing and demonstrating how sophistication and scale can work hand in hand. From this large water battery to their floating solar farms on the ocean, their intentions are clear.
Large wind and solar farms are being shown to be only half the solution, as large-scale storage is needed. Having a level of flexibility built into that storage does not hurt to ensure that when wind and solar fail or dip, there is a marvelous backup at the ready.
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