China's First Large AC Excitation Variable Speed Pumped Storage Unit Successfully Operated
TapTechNews August 12th news, according to CCTV News, the first large AC excitation variable speed pumped storage unit in China - Unit 12 of the Hebei Fengning Pumped Storage Power Station successfully completed a 15-day trial operation and officially went into commercial operation.
The Fengning Pumped Storage Power Station is located on the mainstream of the Luanhe River in the territory of Chengde City, Hebei Province, and it is currently the largest pumped storage power station in the world in terms of installed capacity.
The power station contains 12 pumped storage units with a single-unit capacity of 300,000 kilowatts, among which 10 are fixed-speed units, and 2 are variable-speed units that are first applied in China. Compared with traditional fixed-speed units, the variable-speed unit put into operation this time can change the rotational speed within a certain range, and flexibly and rapidly respond to grid instructions by adjusting the pump power, thereby enhancing the flexible adjustment ability of the pumped storage power station to adapt to the grid load and increasing the stability of the grid.
TapTechNews note: Pumped storage is a technology that uses water to store and release electrical energy, just like a large power bank, only what is charged here is not ordinary electricity, but the potential energy of water. A pumped storage power station usually consists of upper and lower reservoirs at high and low altitudes, as well as power generation devices, plants and control centers.
When there is surplus electricity in the power system, the pumped storage power station will use the surplus electricity to pump water from the lower reservoir to the upper reservoir to store the electrical energy as the potential energy of water. When it comes to the peak electricity consumption period, the water is released and then generates electricity through the turbine to convert the stored potential energy into electrical energy to supply to the grid.
