On April 24, 2026, Gansu Huadian Yongchang 1.2 million kilowatt pumped storage power station issued a tender for the procurement of core units and supporting equipment to the public. This move means that this provincial key energy project has officially entered the stage of key equipment procurement, which will help promote the development of new energy and the construction of new power systems in the northwest. As a leading single unit investment pumped storage project in Gansu, this power station has a first-class (I) type construction specification. The total investment of the project is about 9.5 billion yuan, with an installed capacity of 1.2 million kilowatts and a planned configuration of four 300 megawatt reversible pumped storage power generation units.

Superior location and diverse functions

The project is selected based on local natural geographical conditions, with the upper and lower reservoirs located near the Jinchuan Gorge and Hanjia Gorge reservoirs respectively. The overall structure consists of main facilities such as reservoirs, water conveyance systems, underground powerhouses, and switch stations. After the completion of the project, the annual power generation will be 1.169 billion kilowatt hours, and the annual pumping power consumption will be 1.559 billion kilowatt hours. It can fully undertake functions such as power grid peak shaving, frequency regulation, and emergency backup, effectively smoothing out fluctuations in wind and solar power generation and ensuring the stable operation of the regional power grid.

After the project started in June 2025, the construction progress has steadily accelerated. As of April 2026, all six supporting projects in the early stage have been advanced, making sufficient preparations for the comprehensive commencement of the three major main projects in June. Keywords: Yongchang, Gansu, pumped storage, new energy

The construction nodes have steadily landed, and the excavation and support of the ventilation safety tunnel in the underground factory building have been completed for 1000 meters, with a construction progress of 83%; The access tunnel to the factory has been completed for 500 meters, with a progress of 28%. At the same time, supporting facilities such as roads, water and electricity communication in the reservoir area are being constructed steadily and synchronously. During the Spring Festival, the construction team remained at their posts, overcame the cold weather, strictly controlled safety and construction quality, and ensured the steady progress of the billion dollar project. At present, the bidding preparation for key sections such as water transmission and power generation civil engineering, metal structure installation, etc. has been basically completed, and the entire process construction system has been accelerated and improved.Editor/Gong Ziwei