On January 24, 2026, excavators and transport vehicles shuttled back and forth on the construction site at the southern foot of Pingtian Mountain in Genzhu Town, Gangbei District, Guigang City, Guangxi. More than 500 builders simultaneously promoted the construction of upper and lower reservoirs and underground powerhouses on nearly 20 construction sites. The first pumped storage power station built in the city center of western China, Guigang Pumped Storage Power Station, officially started construction.

This super power bank with a total investment of 8.1 billion yuan and a total installed capacity of 1.2 million kilowatts marks a new era of China's pumped storage power station layout in urban centers.

Cracking the contradiction between electricity supply and demand

The Guigang Pumped Storage Power Station is located in the Gangbei District of the central urban area of Guigang, utilizing the 420 meter height difference between the mountain top depression and the valley below to construct an upper and lower reservoir system. The power station is equipped with four 300000 kW reversible water pump turbine units, with a total regulating capacity of 2.4 million kW. It can pump water to the mountaintop reservoir to store electricity during low electricity consumption periods, and release water for power generation during peak periods, achieving peak shaving and valley filling. According to calculations, after the completion of the power station, it can consume 2.52 billion kilowatt hours of clean energy annually, reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 2.2 million tons, meet the annual electricity needs of 1.15 million households, and ensure the stable transmission of 8 million kilowatts of wind power, 4.7 million kilowatts of photovoltaic power, and 6.9 million kilowatts of nuclear power in southern Guangxi.

The city center is often the power load center. After the pumped storage power station is' embedded 'in the city, the lines connected to the power grid are shortened, the energy loss is reduced, and the regulation efficiency is significantly improved. Ding Guangcai, General Manager of Guigang Project Department of Southern Power Grid Energy Storage Company, introduced that the power station is located at the hub of the West East Power Transmission Channel, and the surrounding clean energy resources are abundant. Its completion will effectively alleviate the channel pressure of Southern Power Grid's' West East Power Transmission', promote the nearby consumption and long-distance transmission of green electricity.

340 million yuan investment in environmental protection to safeguard the ecology

As the first pumped storage power station in the western city center, the Guigang project has set a new benchmark in the field of environmental protection. The environmental protection investment of the project reached 340 million yuan, accounting for 4% of the total investment. Through a complete set of green construction technologies such as waste material utilization, soil and water conservation, sewage treatment, and noise control, the balance between construction and ecology was achieved.

In addition, the power station is located adjacent to the Tian Shan Forest Park, a popular cultural and tourism destination in Guigang City, and its design fully integrates natural landscapes. After completion, the power station will integrate with the alpine meadows, canyon waterfalls, and other attractions within the park, expected to attract over 200000 visitors annually, forming a multifunctional complex of power regulation, science popularization, and industrial tourism.

Overcoming complex geological and construction challenges

The construction of Guigang pumped storage power station faces many challenges: the project covers an area of over 3000 acres and needs to pass through the city center area; The upper reservoir is located in a valley on the mountaintop, while the lower reservoir is located in a river valley with complex geological conditions; During the construction period, it is necessary to balance urban transportation and residents' daily lives. To this end, the project team adopts advanced technologies such as TBM tunneling machines, optimizes the construction diversion plan, and establishes an online monitoring system for ecological flow to ensure downstream ecological water demand.

We have implemented refined construction management to keep high noise equipment away from environmentally sensitive areas, and transport vehicles passing through residential areas must slow down and refrain from honking to minimize the impact on the surrounding areas, "said the project leader of China Water Resources and Hydropower 14th Engineering Bureau. At present, the Huaguoshan Tunnel and the access road tunnel have been successively connected, and the ventilation and safety tunnel has been successfully opened, laying the foundation for the subsequent construction of the main project.

Open the paradigm of pumped storage cities

Previously, Shenzhen pumped storage power station has successfully explored the construction mode of city center, and the implementation of Guigang project further verified the feasibility of this mode. If accurate evaluations can be made between geographical location, natural conditions, technical solutions, and economic factors, more pumped storage power stations will be built in urban centers in the future to improve the efficiency of regulating resource utilization, "said Zhou Wanjun, a director of the China Society of Hydroelectric Power Engineering.

According to the plan of Southern Power Grid, by 2030, the installed capacity of pumped storage in China will reach 120 million kilowatts, and the proportion of urban central power stations is expected to gradually increase. The construction experience of Guigang project will provide replicable urban solutions for the layout of pumped storage power stations in South China and even the whole country.

According to the plan, Guigang Pumped Storage Power Station will be fully completed and put into operation by the end of 2029. At that time, this super power bank will provide flexible regulation capabilities for the Guangxi power grid, becoming a model of harmonious coexistence between cities and nature. As Ding Guangcai said, "What we are building is not only a power station, but also a bridge connecting energy, ecology, and people's livelihood." Keywords: new energy, pumped storage, energy storage

With the launch of the Guigang project, China's pumped storage power stations are moving from the depths of the mountains to the city center, injecting strong momentum into the construction of a new power system and achieving the dual carbon goals.Editor/Cheng Liting