Deep in the Tianshan Mountains, the Xinjiang Fukang Pumped-Storage Power Station, the first million-kilowatt-class pumped-storage power station in Northwest China, passed the project completion acceptance, filling the gap of large-scale pumped-storage power stations in the region. The project was led by Northwest Engineering Corporation Limited under PowerChina, with an EPC general contracting consortium comprising Bureau 3 and Bureau 15 of HydroChina.

Located in Fukang City, Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang, the station has a total installed capacity of 1.2 million kW, equipped with four 300,000 kW vertical-axis single-stage mixed-flow reversible units, and consists of an upper reservoir, a lower reservoir, a water conveyance system, and an underground powerhouse. The drop between the upper and lower reservoirs reaches 484 meters, equivalent to a building of over 160 stories. The station is designed to generate 2.41 billion kWh of electricity annually, with a bidirectional, double-capacity regulation capability of 2.4 million kW.

During construction, the project team obtained 83 national patent authorizations and pioneered the design, manufacturing, and application of several techniques in the hydropower industry, including large-span curved slipforms for reservoir bank face slabs. More than 20 new technologies were adopted, such as drone-based nano spraying, digital pre-assembly, fiber-optic strain monitoring, and fully automated inspection robots.

Since the station was fully put into operation, its comprehensive cycle efficiency has reached 81.13%, ranking at the leading level in China. It can promote the consumption of over 2.6 billion kWh of clean energy such as wind and solar power annually, save 165,000 tons of standard coal, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 496,000 tons.

In the hinterland of the Qinling Mountains, the Zhen'an Pumped-Storage Power Station, the first pumped-storage power station in Shaanxi Province, passed the special acceptance of the hub project and is now operating around the clock. The project was designed by Northwest Engineering Corporation Limited under PowerChina and constructed by Bureau 3 and Bureau 15 of HydroChina.

Located in Zhen'an County, Shangluo City, Shaanxi Province, the station has a total installed capacity of 1.4 million kW, equipped with four reversible pump-turbine generator units with a single-unit capacity of 350,000 kW, a rated head of 440 meters, and a designed annual power generation of 2.34 billion kWh. The upper reservoir has a maximum dam height of 125.9 meters and a regulating storage capacity of 8.5 million cubic meters; the lower reservoir has a maximum dam height of 95 meters and a regulating storage capacity of 9.56 million cubic meters. The station is connected to the Shaanxi power grid via two 330 kV transmission lines.

During construction, the project team relied on the "Zhen'an Pumped-Storage Innovation Studio" to continuously carry out technical research, adopting a full-reservoir anti-seepage system combining "asphalt concrete slab at the reservoir bottom + concrete slab on the reservoir periphery." For the first time, an innovative process of "wet production + dedicated aggregate drying system" was applied in the production of reservoir bottom asphalt concrete, resolving numerous critical technical challenges in the project.

After full operation, the station will save approximately 117,000 tons of standard coal annually and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 305,000 tons, providing key support for power supply security and new energy consumption in the Shaanxi and Northwest power grids.

One in the south, one in the north, one in the east, one in the west—the two million-kilowatt-class pumped-storage power stations have been successively completed across the Northwest, operating at full capacity to safeguard the lights of thousands of households, continuously empowering the service of the "dual carbon" goals and the optimization and upgrading of the regional energy structure.