China is making sure to step into the limelight with the mother of all hydroelectric dams set to be taller than the Statue of Liberty. In Jiangsu Province, known for flat terrain, engineers have created a project with the intention of transforming the limits of pumped-storage hydropower. With the Zhenjiang (Jurong) Pumped Storage Power Station, the idea is to reimagine beneficial energy storage. This is a rather bold move forward in terms of hydroelectric projects in this century.
A giant structure taller than the Statue of Liberty
By comparing this Storage Power Station to the Statue of Liberty, the idea is to emphasize the scale of the project. The dam, which is part of the upper reservoir, rises to 182 meters (about 598 feet). The Statue of Liberty, from the base to the torch, measures 93 meters, and so China’s river structure is twice as tall as this iconic statue.
This pumped storage hydroelectric dam moves water between reservoirs. Since Jiangsu is relatively flat, achieving the vertical scale meant that engineers had to focus on the height of the project within the Lunshan Valley. For this project, engineers had to go a step further and create an artificial drop as nature had not made provisions for this type of vertical drop. The height ensures the storage potential. The upper reservoir contains 17 million cubic meters of water, making the plant a provider of energy in one of the most electricity-hungry areas.
Creating something unheard of in a flat landscape
Creating a dam of this size required somewhat of a different solution. However, the plan was genius. Excavated materials from the site itself were reused to create the dam’s body, and this decision meant that external sourcing of objects was not required. The structure that has been created is highly similar to that of a 60-storey building.
The project that entails hybrid turbines and an underground powerhouse
The core powerhouse was carved into a rock that was 800 meters underground, creating a cavern that was 250 meters long and 60 meters high. With the powerhouse, the hybrid machine operates in two modes. Low electricity periods mean that surplus power from the grid will pump water uphill, taking it to the upper reservoir.
When the demand is rather high, stored water gets released, spinning the turbine to generate electricity. In total, the units are able to deliver an installed capacity of more or less 1.35 gigawatts. This amount makes the facility one of the biggest pumped storage plants in the world. With this project, China is setting the tone for one of the biggest hydroelectric construction systems in the world. When it comes to China, we can only predict what will come next.
A step in the right direction for China’s energy transition
While other hydropower projects are created to generate power continuously, the Zhenjiang (Jurong) was created to be adaptable. This project operates by absorbing extra electricity like a battery and releasing this energy when the grid requires it. Every year, 1.8 billion kilowatt-hours get absorbed while pumping, resulting in 1.35 billion kilowatt-hours when released. Standing at 182 meters tall and fueled by 17 billion litres of water, China surely is breaking every power record on Earth.
From this project, electricity will be provided to 360,000 households, but the main feature of this project is the fact that it ensures grid stabilization. With the grid stabilization, environmental benefits are ensured. Once fully operational, hundreds and thousands of tons of carbon dioxide will not be emitted at all, and the country will no longer rely heavily on fossil fuels. For China, the Zhenjiang (Jurong) Pumped Storage Power Station is not merely a tall dam, but an engineering feat where an impossible location was turned into a site of modernized power.