Construction Begins on 600 MW Delingha Pumped Storage Power Station in Qinghai, China

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On November 10, according to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, the 600 MW Delingha Pumped Storage Power Station in Qinghai officially commenced construction. The project is located in Xuji Township, Delingha City, Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, with a total investment of 5.227 billion yuan. The upper reservoir has a normal storage level at an elevation of 4,008 meters, making it the highest-altitude pumped storage power station in northwest China. The project mainly involves the construction of upper and lower reservoirs, water conveyance systems, and underground powerhouses, with a designed annual power generation capacity of 1.2 billion kWh and annual pumping power consumption of 1.6 billion kWh. It is scheduled to be completed and put into operation in 2034.

The project entity is Qinghai Xinhua Electric Power Co., Ltd. On December 29, 2024, the Qinghai Provincial Development and Reform Commission issued the project approval reply, agreeing to the construction of the power station with an approved installed capacity of 600 MW. The project adopts a daily regulation operation mode and mainly undertakes tasks such as peak shaving, valley filling, energy storage, and emergency backup for the Qinghai power system.

The upper reservoir of the power station is located at the source of a gully on the left bank of Bogeqie Guole, and the lower reservoir is situated approximately 2.9 kilometers upstream of the confluence of the Bayin River and Bayin Guole. According to previously disclosed environmental impact assessment materials, the project plans to be equipped with two reversible pump-turbine generator units with a single-unit capacity of 300 MW each. The upper reservoir has a normal storage level of 4,008 meters and a dead water level of 3,971 meters, while the lower reservoir has a normal storage level of 3,340 meters and a dead water level of 3,320 meters. The hydraulic structure works also include a surface switchyard and supporting facilities.

The Delingha Pumped Storage Power Station has been included in the "14th Five-Year Plan" key implementation project list of the National Energy Administration's "Medium- and Long-Term Development Plan for Pumped Storage (2021–2035)" and has also been incorporated into the national 2024–2028 approval plan for pumped storage serving the power system. Upon completion, the project will participate in peak shaving, frequency regulation, phase modulation, and emergency accident backup for the Qinghai power grid, providing regulation capacity for the consumption of wind and photovoltaic power from the Delingha clean energy base.