1.3　The Development of Pumped Storage Power Stations in China

The development of pumped storage power stations in China began in late 1960s.

In 1968，Hebei Gangnan Hydropower Station installed an imported pumped storage unit with installed capacity of 11 MW.In 1973 and 1975，Baihe Hydropower Station of Beijing Miyun Reservoir was converted and installed two 11 MW pumped storage units made by Tianjin Tianfa Power Equipment Manufactory Co.，Ltd.

After the preliminary exploration in 1970s and the profound research and planning design in 1980s，China's pumped storage power stations stepped into a booming period.The power grids，which replied mainly on coal-fired power，in North China，East China，Guangdong Province，and some other provinces，were challenged by the imbalance between supply and demand in peak time.The construction of pumped storage power stations became a common solution to tackle with the problem of peak shaving.Quite a number of large-sized pumped storage power stations were built to meet market demand.In July 1988，the construction of Guangzhou Pumped Storage Power Station with installed capacity of 2，400 MW was started，where four 300 MW units of the first phase project were put into operation in March 1994，and the units of the second phase project were put into operation in 2000.The construction of Beijing Shisanling Pumped Storage Power Station with the installed capacity of 800 MW was commenced in September 1992 and completed in 1997.Tianhuangping Pumped Storage Power Station in Zhejiang with installed capacity of 1，800 MW was commenced in the same year and was put into operation in 2000.

Since the beginning of the 21st century，China witnessed the second peak period of pumped storage power station development when 19 power stations in total were built or are under construction.

See Figure 1.5 for the change of total installed capacity of pumped storage power stations in China.