The Shisanling Pumped Storage Power Station (十三陵抽水蓄能电厂) is a

pumped-storage Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH), or pumped hydroelectric energy storage (PHES), is a type of hydroelectric energy storage used by electric power systems for load balancing. The method stores energy in the form of gravitational potential ...

power station in

Changping District Changping District (), formerly Changping County (), is a district situated in the suburbs of north and northwest Beijing. History Changping County and Jundu County which administered the area were established in the Han Dynasty. Changping was i ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, near the

Thirteen Tombs of the Ming Dynasty The Ming tombs are a collection of mausoleums built by the emperors of the Ming dynasty of China. The first Ming emperor's tomb is located near his capital Nanjing. However, the majority of the Ming tombs are located in a cluster near Beijing an ...

from where it got its name Shisanling, which means "thirteen tombs". The power station contains four reversible turbines for an installed capacity of 800 MW.

Background

Planning and designs for the power station commenced in 1974 and in 1988, the National Electric Power Ministry and People's Government of Beijing decided to go forth with the project. Construction was initiated that year and by 1995, the first unit was in operation.

Operation

Shisanling Dam

The Shisanling Dam creates the power station's lower reservoir and was an already existing dam. The earth-fill

embankment dam An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface and ...

is high and long. The dam creates a reservoir that can store of water and contains a controlled chute

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure tha ...

Upper reservoir

From the lower reservoir, water is pumped up into the upper reservoir which has a normal storage capacity of . The upper reservoir is artificial was built into the Mang mountain with the assistance of a high and long

concrete-face rock-fill dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, ...

. When power is being generated, the water leaves the reservoir and falls through two

penstock A penstock is a sluice or gate or intake structure that controls water flow, or an enclosed pipe that delivers water to hydro turbines and sewerage systems. The term is inherited from the earlier technology of mill ponds and watermills. H ...

s down towards the power station which is underground and just above the lower reservoir. Before reaching the reversible turbines, the water branches off into four branch pipes.

Power station

The four branch pipes feed water into the four turbines and after it generates power it is returned to the lower reservoir to repeat cycle when operating. Each reversible turbine has a 200 MW installed capacity. The turbines and generators are stored in an

underground power house An underground power station is a type of hydroelectric power station constructed by excavating the major components (e.g. machine hall, penstocks, and tailrace) from rock, rather than the more common surface-based construction methods. One or mor ...

measuring long, wide and high. .

References