GE switches on 600 MW of pumped storage units in China

December 8 (Renewables Now) - GE Hydro Solutions has commissioned the first two 300-MW pumped storage units at a 1.2-GW project in China, General Electric Co (NYSE:GE) said on Thursday.

The company was selected to provide four 300-MW pumped storage units for the Anhui Jinzhai pumped storage power plant in the Jinzhai County, Anhui Province, the first two of which are now connected to the grid.

Its customer is Anhui Jinzhai Pumped Storage Power Co LTD, a division of State Grid XinYuan.

The hydro battery will help the province tackle grid stability challenges and will save up to 89,500 tonnes of coal, eliminating 179,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year.

The project supports China’s goal of building more than 200 pumped storage stations totalling 270 GW by 2025, GE said based on Bloomberg information. GE has already supplied 8.2 GW of pumped storage in China, which accounts for more than a quarter of the country’s installed base, according to the announcement.