In the eastern margin of Turpan Basin, a long steel dragon is brewing among the gobi folds in the vein of Flaming Mountain. In Shanshan County, the water flow of Ertanggou has been flowing for thousands of years, and beneath this seemingly silent land, a super project capable of rewriting the pattern of Xinjiang's power grid is about to break ground. The 1.4 million kilowatt pumped storage power station of Xinjiang Huadian Shanshan, a national key energy project with a total investment of over 10 billion yuan, is at the forefront of the countdown to construction.

However, even the grandest blueprint requires a path to pave. How to transport large-scale equipment to deep mountains? How do tens of thousands of builders enter the site? How to circulate the main construction materials? The answer lies in the two major supporting road projects that have recently been finalized.

Aneng Second Bureau: 103 million to open up the throat passage

China Aneng Group Second Engineering Bureau Co., Ltd. plans to win the bid for the power station dedicated road project with a price of 103.4988 million yuan, while China Railway Seventh Bureau ranks second with a price of 103.9809 million yuan. This permanent dedicated highway, with a total length of 4.12 kilometers, is truly a throat passage.

The starting point of the line is connected to the current township road Y17, crossing Ertanggou and passing through mountains, and the end point is connected to the outlet of the flood discharge and sand discharge tunnel of the lower reservoir. Built according to the three-level road standards within the hydroelectric field, with a designed speed of 20 kilometers per hour. Although the mileage is not long, the construction difficulty cannot be underestimated - the entire line covers roadbed, pavement, bridges, culverts, tunnels, and traffic safety facilities, and synchronously implements tunnel electromechanical engineering, including a complete set of systems such as lighting, ventilation, monitoring, and fire protection. The complex terrain and scattered construction sites along the route pose extremely high requirements for road stability and traffic safety.

The total project duration is 638 days, with a planned start date of August 1, 2026 and completion date of April 30, 2028. At that time, this dedicated road will become the only channel for large equipment to enter the site, pressing the start button for the main construction of the power station.

China Railway 17th Bureau: 173 million yuan for weaving and compacting the internal road network

China Railway 17th Bureau Group Co., Ltd. plans to win the bid for the connection road between the upper and lower reservoirs of the power station and the on-site road project for 172.8957 million yuan, while China Energy Second Bureau ranks second with 187.6057 million yuan. If the dedicated road is the main artery, then the line won by China Railway 17th Bureau is the complete set of capillaries circulating in the power station.

The total construction period of the project is 896 days, and it is planned to start on July 20, 2026 and be fully completed by December 31, 2028. The construction content covers a wide range: the main road connecting the upper and lower warehouses, the left bank road of the lower warehouse, the owner's camp road, the switch station road, and the tunnel water treatment station road - almost every channel required for the operation of the power station is included. In addition, the excavation support, concrete lining, first phase closure project of the 2nd construction support tunnel, as well as the construction of the weighbridge, steel plate processing plant leveling, comprehensive environmental protection and water conservation, and temporary construction projects during the preparation period, are all included in the construction scope. This is a comprehensive pilot project that guarantees the full site, full process, and full cycle promotion of the power station.

Building a new energy framework in Xinjiang

The Shanshan Pumped Storage Power Station has a total installed capacity of 1400 megawatts and is equipped with four single 350 megawatt units. It is a core project of the national pumped storage medium and long-term plan and a key energy project in the autonomous region. Its significance goes far beyond building a power station - after being put into operation, it will fully undertake core functions such as peak shaving, valley filling, energy storage, frequency regulation, phase modulation, and emergency backup of the power grid, greatly enhancing the consumption capacity of Xinjiang's power grid for new energy such as wind power and photovoltaics.keywords:Engineering infrastructure

According to calculations, the power station can save over 700000 tons of standard coal and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by over 2 million tons annually. Under the grand narrative of the dual carbon goal, this set of numbers represents a solid step for Xinjiang to build a clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient modern energy system.

Now, the successful completion of the two major supporting road projects means that the transportation system within the power station is about to take shape, and transportation bottlenecks will be completely eliminated. When the first construction access road extends deep into the mountains, the real construction of this billion dollar pumped storage power station officially begins.Editor/Yang Meiling