Pumped-storage hydropower to boost China's green push

China's pumped-storage hydroelectricity sector is gearing up for development during the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period to serve as a critical engine for the nation's green transition and long-term energy security, industry experts said.

Over the next half-decade, the country expects to see approximately 100 million kilowatts of new pumped-storage capacity become operational, with an average annual rollout exceeding 20 million kW, placing the industry at a record level, they said.

"Pumped-storage is to play an increasingly irreplaceable strategic role in expanding the scale and quality of new energy, ensuring the safe and stable operation of the power system, said Zhao Zenghai, deputy head of the China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute.

Zhao said that compared with the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, the sector's development scale is expected to experience a rapid leap.

The 100 million kW of newly commissioned capacity targeted for the next five years is roughly 1.5 times the nation's total cumulative capacity at the end of 2025, making China's total operational pumped-storage capacity likely to reach around 160 million kW by 2030, he said.

Concurrently, the country will actively and systematically advance the construction of approved projects, striving to meet the power system's demand for 400 million kW of flexible capacity by 2035.

The 15th Five-Year Plan will foster a new pattern of coordinated development between eastern load centers and new energy-rich regions in central and western China, the institute said in a report.

"While closer synergy with new energy will effectively smooth out output fluctuations and substantially boost the utilization and consumption of renewables, it will also provide vital regulatory support for cross-provincial power transmission from new energy megabases, significantly enhancing the efficiency of transmission corridors," Zhao said.

Ye Xiaoning, a senior engineer at the new energy department of the State Grid Energy Research Institute, said pumped-storage power stations are expected to further solidify their role in system regulation in the years to come.

"In addition to leveraging their peak-shaving and valley-filling capabilities to rapidly respond to grid demand in central and eastern regions, they will also be serving as vital regulatory support for outbound power transmission in the new energy-rich western and northern regions, effectively smoothing out wind and solar fluctuations and boosting the utilization of new energy," Ye said.

Capable of rapidly responding to grid regulation needs, smoothing out the volatility of wind and solar power generation, and effectively enhancing the integration and utilization of new energy, the industry has transitioned from mere scale expansion to prioritizing both scale and quality in recent years, placing greater emphasis on economic viability, safety and environmental considerations, he added.

Technological innovation is also taking center stage.

The institute said the next five years will see breakthroughs in large variable-speed units and stable operations under wide load ranges, alongside the widespread application of digital and smart technologies across the industry chain to better meet the flexible regulatory needs of a modern power system.

A recent notice from the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration on refining the capacity pricing mechanism marks a major turning point, pushing the sector from a policy-driven model to a market-driven one.

Market returns will increasingly dictate profitability, which will incentivize enterprises to improve efficiency, strengthen operational management and lower costs.

To thrive in this new landscape, Zhao advised project investors to double down on technological innovation, optimize engineering designs and enhance their capabilities in electricity market operations.

This robust domestic momentum aligns seamlessly with China's global leadership in this area, said Francesco La Camera, director-general of the International Renewable Energy Agency.

La Camera said that while global renewable capacity additions hit a record 692 gigawatts in 2025, China is not only the main driver of this growth — it also accounts for over 60 percent of global capacity additions, while playing a leading role across the board in electric vehicles, energy storage deployment and grid investment.

Huang Qi contributed to this story.