A pumped-storage hydro power station which will be the largest of its kind in Western China started construction in Qinghai.
What is pumped hydro?
Pumped storage hydropower is a form of clean energy storage that is ideal for electricity grids reliant on solar and wind power.
Pumped hydropower storage uses the force of gravity to generate electricity using water that has been previously pumped from a lower source to an upper reservoir.
The water is pumped to the higher reservoir at times of low demand and low electricity prices. At times of high demand – and higher prices – the water is then released to drive a turbine in a powerhouse and supply electricity to the grid.
The energy storage capacity of a pumped hydro facility depends on the size of its two reservoirs, while the amount of power generated is linked to the size of the turbine.
A facility with two reservoirs roughly the size of two Olympic swimming pools, and a 500 metre height difference between them, could provide a capacity of 3 megawatts (MW) and store up to 3.5 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity.
There are two main types of pumped hydro:
- Open-loop: with either an upper or lower reservoir that is continuously connected to a naturally flowing water source such as a river.
- Closed-loop: an ‘off-river’ site that produces power from water pumped to an upper reservoir without a significant natural inflow.
Read more on pumped hydro: https://shorturl.at/mnGV1
Source: People’s Daily, 7 Aug 2023. Modern China.
Posted in China Environment Net on Facebook, 8 Aug 2023.