Groundbreaking ceremony for the first pumped storage hydropower project worth nearly 1 billion USD in Ninh Thuan

The Bac Ai pumped storage hydropower project plays an important role in the national power system, helping to stabilize the system and regulate frequency, with an investment scale of up to nearly 1 billion USD.

Construction of Bac Ai pumped storage hydropower plant begins - Photo: N.AN

On February 22, Vietnam Electricity Group and Power Project Management Board 3 held a ceremony to launch the construction of Bac Ai Pumped Storage Hydropower Plant (Phase 2), the first pumped storage hydropower plant in Vietnam to be built.

Unique project in Vietnam

Phase 2 of the project includes construction items including 4 units, the above reservoir headworks cluster and TPP 500 kV. The project has been approved by the Prime Minister on the conversion of the purpose of using protective forest land; implementation of compensation and site clearance.

Mr. Trinh Minh Hoang - Vice Chairman of Ninh Thuan Provincial People's Committee - said that along with Bac Ai pumped storage hydropower project, which is the only project in Vietnam, the restart of the nuclear power project, a goal to strive for within 5 years, has been approved by the National Assembly and a special policy mechanism for the project has great significance for the locality.

Considering that these two projects have a close relationship to generate peak power and effectively exploit energy resources, Mr. Hoang hopes that EVN will implement the project on schedule. In particular, it is necessary to focus resources to speed up construction, ensure quality, prioritize labor settlement, and contribute to promoting local growth.

Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan - General Director of EVN - said that if the two projects of Bac Ai pumped storage hydropower and Ninh Thuan nuclear power are completed by 2030, Ninh Thuan will become the largest clean energy center in Vietnam and the largest in Southeast Asia.

The Bac Ai pumped storage hydropower project plays an important role in the national power system, helping to stabilize the system and regulate frequency. This is a tool to help regulate the power system to operate stably, safely and reliably when the installed capacity of clean energy plants increases to meet the requirements of emission reduction.

Bac Ai Hydropower Plant will pump water from Song Cai Lake to the upper lake to store energy during off-peak hours and transmit it to the national grid during peak hours. Therefore, the project is considered a large and extremely meaningful energy storage system when put into operation in the 2029-2030 period.

The project is expected to be fully operational in May 2031 - Photo: NGOC AN

Speed ​​up progress on schedule, ensure quality

To effectively implement the project, Mr. Tuan requested the contractors in the consortium to urgently mobilize enough human resources, equipment, and prepare enough finance to implement the construction to ensure quality, safety, environmental sanitation, and completion on schedule.

At the same time, the group proposed that the leaders of Ninh Thuan province and the ministries, branches and localities of the project continue to direct and implement the work of compensation and site clearance, promptly hand over the entire construction site so that the investor can organize the synchronous implementation of construction items to meet the project's progress.

Vietnam Electricity Group assigned the task to Power Project Management Board 3 and the consortium of contractors to manage the project, organize construction to ensure compliance with quality and environmental requirements, focus resources and equipment to speed up progress, and strive to complete the project according to the set plan.

Bac Ai pumped storage hydropower plant is built in Bac Ai district, assigned to Power Project Management Board 3 as the investor's representative to manage and operate the project.

The project has a total investment of 21.1 billion VND, starting in February 2025, expected to generate electricity for Unit 1 in December 2029, Unit 2 in April 2030, Unit 3 in August 2030; Unit 4 in December 2030. The project is expected to be completed in May 2031.

The project has implemented phase 1, which is a cluster of spillway works located deep in the Song Cai hydropower reservoir. EVN has started construction since January 2020 and completed acceptance in March 2021, ensuring completion before storing water in Song Cai reservoir.

Pumped storage hydropower is a form of hydropower that stores energy, similar to a "battery". The main function of pumped storage hydropower is to accumulate electricity to supplement the system when needed.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/khoi-cong-du-an-thuy-dien-tich-nang-dau-tien-gan-1-ti-usd-tai-ninh-thuan-20250222103631598.htm