Between the steep cliffs of the Yellow River Grand Canyon, a giant energy reservoir is moving from blueprint to reality. Recently, with the Water Resources Planning and Design Institute Co., Ltd. winning the pre feasibility study report review service for Inner Mongolia Qingshuihe Laoniuwan Pumped Storage Power Station for 1.27 million yuan, this super power bank with a total investment of 7.375 billion yuan has officially completed the key physical examination before approval.

This is not only a winning bid for technical services, but also a crucial outcome for the Mengxi Power Grid and even the national energy security game - in Inner Mongolia, where wind and solar resources are abundant but peak shaving capabilities are scarce, the installed capacity of 1000MW will be like a strong heart, injecting a stable rhythm into the fluctuating new energy pulse.

The guardian deity of scenery with a heavy investment of 7.3 billion yuan

The site selection of Laoniuwan Pumped Storage Power Station is of great strategic significance. It is not only located deep in the Yellow River Gorge of Laoniuwan Town, Qingshuihe County, Hohhot City, but also serves as the anchor of the 8GW wind and solar new energy base in the national plan.

The proportion of new energy installed capacity in the Mengxi power grid has exceeded 40%, but the accompanying peak shaving pressure is enormous, and the curtailment rate of wind and solar power has been hovering at a high level of 5% -10% for a long time. As a daily regulated pure pumped storage power station, this project will undertake six core tasks including peak shaving, valley filling, and frequency regulation after completion. It is expected to consume about 1.2 billion kilowatt hours of new energy electricity annually, directly increasing the flexible regulation capacity of the regional power grid by more than 15%. Among the static total investment of 7.375 billion yuan, civil engineering and equipment procurement account for over 80%, which will strongly drive the growth of local building materials, equipment manufacturing, and transportation industries, becoming a new engine for the county's economy.

Accelerating from paper blueprints to national planning

Looking back at the project's progress trajectory, it is a race against time. Starting from the government's on-site survey in June 2022 and partnering with Inner Mongolia Power Group in December of the same year, the cooperation framework was established in just six months; In March 2023, the component was submitted to the National Energy Administration, and in August 2024, it was successfully included in the national pumped storage medium and long-term development plan, entering the national team sequence.

The completion of the pre feasibility study technical review bidding marks a breakthrough in the core technical barriers of the project's preliminary work. As an industry reviewer, the Water Resources Planning and Design Institute will conduct a comprehensive examination of the geological conditions, hydraulic layout, and economy of the power station to ensure that every investment is converted into tangible green electricity benefits. Keywords: new energy, energy storage, pumped storage power station

The sound of water in Lao Niu Bay will eventually resonate with the roar of the electric motor. This power station hidden deep in the Yellow River Gorge is not only the energy storage heart of Hohhot's 8GW scenic base, but also a vivid practice of China's dual carbon strategy in the northern ecological barrier zone. When the 1000MW unit is fully operational in 2029 (expected to be put into operation), it will not only deliver electricity, but also the confidence of China's energy structure transformation.Editor/Cheng Liting