On April 20, 2026, as the roar of large machinery engines echoed through the valleys of the Songshan Mountains in western Henan, the excavation of earth and stone for the underground powerhouse of the Housihe Pumped Storage Power Station in Gongyi, Henan officially began. This is not only the first "energy chess piece" dropped by CTG in the Central Plains region, but also marks the end of the preliminary preparation stage of this giant super power bank with a total installed capacity of 1.2 million kilowatts and the official entry into the main construction phase.

As a key project in the 14th Five Year Plan for the Medium and Long term Development of Pumped Storage (2021-2035), the comprehensive construction of this power station has embedded a crucial fuse for the safe and stable operation of the power grid in Henan and even Central China.

Seeking Power from Geological Limits

The underground factory building of Housi River is not an ordinary building, but a huge group of caves deeply buried inside the mountain. Since the start of mobilization in March 2025, although auxiliary projects such as ventilation safety tunnels and factory roof anchoring tunnels have been completed according to the milestones, the real tough battle has just begun. The project team admitted that this is not a flat construction site, but a game field between high and steep canyons and complex geology. Faced with the construction difficulties of high and steep slopes in the upper reservoir, the support pressure of cross excavation of cave groups, and the precision control of water intake shafts with depths exceeding 300 meters, the construction team must compete with hard rocks to make progress while ensuring the safety red line.

This challenge is not without rewards. The four 300000 kW reversible water pump turbine generator units designed and installed in the power station are like four strong hearts, which will store energy during low load periods and release it during peak periods in the future. Shi Hongtao, the person in charge of CTG Henan Gongyi Pumped Storage Company, stated that they will concentrate their advantageous resources to carry out a "saturated" attack on key technical nodes, striving to carve out a modern underground energy hub in the rugged mountains within a construction period of about 52 months.

The key puzzle of power grid peak shaving

If thermal power is the cornerstone of the power grid, then the Housihe Pumped Storage Power Station is a flexible regulator. According to the plan, the project is expected to achieve the first unit commissioning in June 2030 and full capacity grid connection in March 2031. At this time point, it will undertake the core tasks of peak shaving, valley filling, energy storage, frequency regulation, and emergency backup for the Henan power grid. Keywords: energy storage, pumped storage

For Henan, which is currently in the throes of energy transition, the strategic value of this power station is self-evident. With the rapid increase in the proportion of new energy installations such as wind power and photovoltaics, the volatility challenges faced by the power grid are becoming increasingly severe. The powerful regulation capability of Housihe Power Station will effectively smooth out the randomness of new energy output and is expected to significantly improve the regional green power consumption level. This is not only a commercial solution for CTG to support the dual carbon goal, but also a key infrastructure to ensure energy security in the Central Plains urban agglomeration. When the peak of electricity consumption in the summer of 2030 arrives, this power station hidden deep in the mountains will become an invisible hero that lights up thousands of households.Editor/Cheng Liting