The Yangjiang pumped-storage power project located in the Guangdong Province of China is being developed in two phases for a total capacity of 2.4GW.

China Southern Power Grid Company and Frequency Modulation Power Generation Company are building the hydroelectric facility with a total investment of approximately £919.75m ($1.28bn).

Guangdong Provincial Development and Reform Commission approved the project in October 2015. The preliminary works were started in November 2015, followed by the start of the main construction works in July 2017.

Phase one is expected to be completed by June 2022, while the second phase of the power project is expected to be completed around 2030.

Project Gallery

The Yangjiang pumped-storage power station is intended to facilitate peak and frequency regulation of the Guangdong Power Grid.

Location and site details

The Yangjiang pumped-storage power station is located at the intersection of Yangchun city and Dianbai county, in the Bajia town, Guangdong Province, China.

The project site lies in the Moyang River Basin and in the Bajia mountain area, approximately 230km away from the Guangzhou city.

Yangjiang pumped-storage facility make-up

The Yangjiang pumped storage hydroelectric facility comprises upper and lower reservoirs connected through a water delivery system, an underground powerhouse, and a ground switch station.

The underground powerhouse will measure 156.5m-long, 66.9m-high, and 27.5m-wide. It will be equipped with six 400MW vertical-shaft, single-stage, mixed flow reversible pump turbine units operating at a water head of 693.07m.

The other components of the project include diversion tunnels, tailrace tunnels, water inlet and outlet facilities at the upper and lower reservoirs, and the construction of on-site roads.

Reservoir and dam details

The upper reservoir is located in the Hewei Mountain forest farm, while the lower reservoir lies in the Shixiang, Gengkou and Fengtian areas of the Gaowu village.

The upper reservoir dam comprises a roller compacted concrete (RCC) gravity dam measuring 476.5m-long and 101m-tall.

The upper reservoir will have a storage area of 7.54km2 and its water storage volume will be approximately 18.3 million cubic metres (mcm). The lower reservoir will have approximately 15.94km2 of rainfall collection area and its storage capacity will be approximately 32.53mcm.

Power evacuation

The electricity generated by the Yangjiang pumped-storage power station phase one will be evacuated to the Guangdong Power Grid through a 500kV transmission line.

Contractors involved

The 14th Bureau of Hydropower Construction signed a contract worth £29.69m ($38.97m) with China Southern Power Grid Company for the mechanical and electrical installation works of the first phase of Yangjiang pumped-storage power project in April 2019.

Harbin Electric Machinery Plant Company won the bid for the supply and installation of three sets of 400MW pumped storage units along with ancillary equipment for phase one of the project in September 2018.

The Eighth Bureau of Hydropower Construction signed a contract worth £45.54m ($61.01m) for the  upper reservoir construction works in January 2018.

The Seventh Bureau of Hydropower Construction won the civil engineering construction contract for the water delivery system and the underground powerhouse in June 2017.

Central South Institute was contracted for the supervision services of the Yangjiang pumped storage power project in June 2015, while Fifth Bureau of Hydropower Construction was contracted for the construction of tunnels, as well as the connecting roads between the upper and the lower reservoir.

Zhongnan Survey Design & Research Institute Company conducted the environmental impact assessment, while Guangdong Hydropower Planning & Design Institute (GPDI) was engaged for the site survey, design and investigation services of the pumped-storage hydroelectric power project.