China has begun construction of a 600-megawatt pumped-storage hydropower station in Qinghai Province to help balance the grid serving Delingha’s 10-gigawatt clean energy base. The station, in Delingha’s Xuji township, is expected to enter full operation in 2034.

The 5.23 billion yuan ($783 million) project is the highest-altitude pumped-storage station in northwest China, according to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council. The upper reservoir’s normal water level will sit at an elevation of 4,008 meters.

The project will comprise upper and lower reservoirs, a water conveyance system and an underground powerhouse. During periods of low electricity demand, the station will use surplus power to pump water from the lower reservoir to the upper one.

When demand rises, it can release the stored water to drive turbines and supply electricity to the grid.

The plant is designed to generate 1.2 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually and use 1.6 billion kWh a year for pumping.

By shifting electricity use and generation to different times of day, the station can help the grid meet peaks in demand. It will also provide emergency reserve capacity and help regulate the grid’s frequency and phase.

The National Energy Administration listed the station as a key project under China’s 14th Five-Year Plan, which covered 2021 through 2025.

It also appears in the agency’s medium- and long-term pumped-storage development plan for 2021 through 2035. The project is intended to fill a gap in large-capacity energy storage in the region.

Sun Chuanwang, a professor at Xiamen University’s School of Economics, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the station’s proximity to the clean energy base would help Delingha store and use the electricity it produces.

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