NANNING — South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Monday put its first pumped-storage hydropower station into full operation, in a move to support its push for clean energy and green growth.

The Nanning pumped-storage power station entered full service after its final generating unit was connected to the grid, as announced by the Guangxi subsidiary of China Southern Power Grid.

The facility is equipped with four generating units, each with a capacity of 300,000 kilowatts. At full capacity, it has the capability to absorb 2.5 billion kilowatt-hours of excess electricity generated from clean energy sources annually, effectively reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 2.2 million tons, said Zhu Zekuan, general manager of the station project.

The project was approved in November 2021, with construction commencing in July 2022. It involved a total investment of about 8 billion yuan ($1.1 billion).

Pumped-storage hydropower stations operate with two reservoirs at varying elevations. During periods of low electricity demand, surplus power is employed to pump water from the lower reservoir to the upper one. When demand rises, the stored water is released to generate electricity, thus helping balance power supply and demand and improve the use of clean energy.

The project is expected to support Guangxi's efforts to build an integrated power system combining wind, solar, hydropower and energy storage as the country pledges to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, said Li Li, an engineer with the Guangxi subsidiary of China Southern Power Grid.

Xinhua - China Daily