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Toshiba Wins Major Order for Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Generators for China's CSG Power Generation Company
Tokyo—Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO: 6502), one of the leading global suppliers of hydro power generating equipment, today announced that its Chinese consolidated subsidiary, Toshiba Hydro Power (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd. (THPC), has won a major contract to supply four 320MW pumped storage hydroelectric power plant systems to CSG Power Generation Company, a group company of China Southern Power Grid Co., Ltd. The systems will be installed at Qingyuan Pumped Storage Power Station in Guangdong Province.
THPC will supply the pumped-turbines, generator-motors and associated equipment. Installation will start in January 2012, and the first unit is expected to be commissioned in October 2014.
Pumped storage hydroelectric generation supports electricity utilities in load balancing to meet fluctuations in electricity demand. Energy is essentially stored as water that drives the generators. During times of low demand, typically at night, the water is pumped from a lower reservoir to an upper reservoir. It is released to flow into a waterway and to drive the turbines during times of peak demand.
Toshiba is the world's leading supplier of pumped storage hydroelectric equipment. Its achievements include installation of generators at the Kannagawa power plant in Japan, which has a single machine capacity of 470MW. The advanced technology and reliability of the units offered by THPC were an important factor in the company winning the contract for Qingyuan, where the water head of the upper reservoir is over 500m high.
China's electricity market is expected to see a large increase in base load power demand, driven by strong economic growth, and the country is responding with a comprehensive power plant construction program, including plans for nuclear power generation. The load balancing made possible by pumped storage hydro power generation makes it an important part of the power generation mix, and construction of 15 plants over the next five year is expected to boost installed capacity to over 34gigawatts in 2015, twice the level of 2009(1).
Hydro power generation is the world's most widely used renewable energy source. In respect of energy strategy and achieving an optimized energy generation mix, Toshiba recognizes hydro power generation as equal in importance to nuclear and thermal power, including geothermal energy.
Toshiba established THPC in 2005, and measures taken by the company to support the Chinese hydro power business include construction of a new core components shop for generators and expansion of the machine shop, and construction of a Hydraulic Machine Research Laboratory.
Toshiba Group will aim to secure more contracts in China, and is also seeking to enhance its business in other key markets, including North and South America, India, and Southeast Asia, where demand for hydro power systems is strong.
(1) Source: Toshiba
About Qingyuan power plant project
Plant name: Qingyuan Pumped Storage Power Station
Client: CSG Power Generation Company
Location: Guangdong Province, China
Equipment from Toshiba: 4 x 320MW pumped storage hydroelectric equipment