On a winter afternoon, the sunlight shines upon the reservoir at the Qingyuan Pumped Storage Power Station in Liaoning. Overlooked from the mountain top, the reservoir stretches like a green ribbon amidst the surrounding mountains. After 7 years of construction, the first unit of the Qingyuan Pumped Storage Power Station has successfully completed a 15-day assessment and trial operation. On December 15, it officially commenced power generation and production, marking a new phase in the development of the largest “pumped storage power station” in Northeast China.
As an old industrial base in China’s Northeast region, Fushun in Liaoning Province boasts not only industrial foundations in coal, petrochemicals, and steel, but also abundant ecological resources. With undulating mountains, meandering rivers, and abundant forest and water resources, Fushun is traversed by 879 rivers, boasting Dahuofang Reservoir with a total storage capacity of up to 2.268 billion cubic meters. How can these water resources be utilized to benefit the local people? The Fushun government has turned its attention to pumped storage power stations.
In 2017, the Qingyuan Pumped Storage Power Station, a “mega project”, began construction in Beisanjia Town, Qingyuan Manchu Autonomous County, recognized as an undertaking for the revitalization of the old industrial base in Northeast China and a key project during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) period. The project’s total investment amounts to 10.9 billion yuan, with a total installed capacity of 1.8 million kilowatts. The planned annual pumped storage capacity is 4 billion kilowatt-hours, while the power generation capacity is 3 billion kilowatt-hours.
Since its construction, the project has focused on integrating technological innovation and application, successfully overcoming various construction challenges, and demonstrating “technological expertise” in every aspect. “This project is the first in China to extensively utilize fair-faced concrete during the construction of a power station. This type of concrete can only be poured and molded once, requiring extremely high construction techniques and procedure standards. After pouring, the concrete surface appears smooth and reflective.” said Tang Xudong, Deputy Manager of the Civil Engineering Department of Sinohydro Bureau 6 Co., Ltd., responsible for the Qingyuan Pumped Storage Power Station project. “Evaluated by the panel from POWERCHINA, our technology has been recognized as reaching an internationally leading level.” added Tang Xudong.
In addition, the application of digital technology has enabled the construction of an “intelligent dam” to be faster, more robust, and better managed. The advanced digital dam monitoring system allows for remote monitoring of dam construction quality and compaction conditions. The construction of the dam involves the use of a self-developed “autonomous intelligent control” vibrating roller. Its sensing system, similar to our eyes, enables path planning and intelligent obstacle avoidance; its control system, resembling our hands and feet, enables automatic driving and intelligent lane changing; its execution system, resembling our brains, performs task planning and vehicle control, effectively reducing human errors to “zero”.
The Qingyuan Pumped Storage Power Station, hidden in the mountains, serves as a colossal “power bank”, injecting new green energy into the revitalization and development of Liaoning. Once completed, the power station will have the capacity to absorb 4 billion kilowatt-hours of wind power, nuclear power, solar power, and other renewable energy sources annually. During periods of peak electricity demand, it will supply precious “environmentally-friendly power” to the Liaoning power grid, effectively supporting the safe and stable operation of the grid and playing a crucial role in improving the power generation structure of Northeast China.
