Xiamen Pumped Storage Power Station

The Xiamen power project is a 1.4GW pumped storage power station under construction in the Fujian province of China.

Fujian Xiamen Pumped Storage Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), is developing the project with an estimated investment of £989m ($1.25bn).

The feasibility study of the project was completed in November 2013, whereas the Provincial Development and Reform Commission (DRC) of Xiamen approved the construction of the hydroelectric power plant in August 2016.

Construction works started in December 2016 and the first pump turbine unit is expected to commence operations by October 2023. The remaining three units are scheduled to come online by August 2024.

At full capacity, the Xiamen pumped storage hydropower station will consume up to 3.1 terawatt-hours (TWh) of surplus electricity a year to pump water to the upper reservoir for storage and produce up to 2.3TWh of electricity a year by releasing the stored water during peak demand.

Location and site details

The Xiamen pumped storage power station is located in the Tingxi town of Tong’an district, near the Xiamen city, Fujian province, China.

The project site lies in the villages of Wangqian and Wufeng, at the southern end of the East China Power Grid of SGCC.

Reservoir and dam details

The upper reservoir will be created with the construction of a 62.3m-high reinforced concrete  rockfill dam with a crest length of 667m and a crest width of 8m. It will have an active storage capacity of 10.24 million cubic metres (Mcm) at a normal water level of 867m.

The lower reservoir will feature a 95.5m-high reinforced concrete rockfill dam with a crest length of 346m and a crest width of 10m. It will have an effective storage volume of 10.15Mcm at a normal water level of 312m.

Xiamen pumped storage power station make-up

The Xiamen pumped storage power station will be equipped with four 350MW power units, each of which will comprise a reversible Francis pump turbine unit placed in an underground powerhouse. The power plant is designed to operate at a net water head of 545m.

Other components of the facility will include a water delivery system comprising four water diversion tunnels, two penstocks, two tail race tunnels, and a switch station.

Power evacuation

The electricity generated by the Xiamen pumped storage power station will be evacuated into the Fujian power grid through two 500kV transmission lines.

Contractors involved

Voith Hydro was contracted to manufacture and supply four reversible pump turbines along with auxiliary equipment for the project in November 2018.

Sinohydro, a division of the state-owned Power Construction Corporation of China (Powerchina), is engaged in construction and electromechanical installation works of the project.

Sinohydro Bureau 8 was contracted for civil engineering and the main construction works of the project in January 2018.

Sinohydro Bureau 14 was awarded a contract worth £32m ($43.7m) to install the mechanical and electrical equipment of the project in January 2021. The contractual scope includes the installation of pump turbine units and gas insulated switchgears (GIS).

Sinohydro Bureau 16 was contracted to construct the access, ventilation and safety tunnels as well as the access road for the Xiamen pumped storage power project in October 2016.

Guiyang Institute was engaged to provide safety monitoring services for equipment installation of the project in December 2018.