Second-largest hydropower station starts operations
Print Edition
China began operating the world’s second-largest hydropower station yesterday in what is seen as a milestone toward the country’s carbon neutrality goals.
The Baihetan hydropower station’s first two turbines started running after a three-day trial. Each of the hydro-generating units has a capacity of 1 gigawatt, the largest single-unit capacity in the world. The project will eventually consist of 16 such units, making its total generation capacity second only to the Three Gorges Dam once it is completed in July next year.
On completion, it will be able to generate enough electricity each day to meet the power needs of 500,000 people for a year, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
The 289-meter-tall dam was built by the China Three Gorges Corporation and is located on the Jinsha River, the upper section of the Yangtze River, and straddles the southwestern provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said he hoped the plant would be able to “make greater contributions toward achieving the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality,” in a congratulatory message published by the government.
A key project in China’s west-east power transmission program, the hydropower station will generate an average of more than 62.4 billion kWh of electricity every year. Its green power will be transmitted to east China, contributing to the high-quality development of the local economy.
An ultra-high voltage electricity transmission line connecting Baihetan to eastern Jiangsu Province started construction in late 2020 and is expected to launch in 2022. Another UHV from Baihetan to Zhejiang Province, also in eastern China, is waiting for approval.
When in full operation, the Baihetan project is expected to save approximately 19.68 million tons of standard coal, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 51.6 million tons, sulfur dioxide by 170,000 tons, and nitrogen oxides by 150,000 tons annually.
The project is also designed to strengthen control over water flows during the flooding season.
“The hydropower station has a flood control capacity of 7.5 billion cubic meters. It will function as a flood barrier for the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River,” said Wang Wei from CTGC.
During the dry season, it will also increase the flow in the lower reaches and improve the navigable conditions of the channel, according to CTGC.
Though CTGC said it was one of China’s biggest and most challenging engineering projects, it has taken only four years to build.
“The generator rotor — a core component of the units — weighs 1,955 tons, and can spin at 111 revolutions per minute and still remain stable, which ensures the long-term safe operation of the units,” said Chen Hao, an engineer with the CTGC.
The dam of Baihetan is an ultra-high double-curvature arch dam with a maximum height of 289 meters and an arc length of 709 meters. The concrete pouring for the dam started in April 2017 and ended in late May this year, with a total casting volume of 8.03 million cubic meters for its main body.
Since the pouring began, thermal cracking has not been found on the dam, proving that China has completely mastered the key technology of temperature control and crack prevention in mass concrete, according to CTGC.
“All the core technologies of the Baihetan hydropower station are independently developed. The operation of the first generating units marks a breakthrough in China’s construction of large-scale hydropower projects,” said Lei Mingshan, chairman of CTGC.
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