The No. 4 turbine-generator at the 16-GW Baihetan hydropower station, owned by China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG), was put into operation on Nov. 19, the sixth unit commissioned at this world’s second largest hydropower plant and the 100th hydraulic generator commissioned by CTG along the mainstream of the Yangtze River.
To date, 86 of the world’s 127 hydraulic generators with a capacity of over 700 MW are owned and managed by CTG. The company has set the world record for most hydropower generating units managed per capita, according to a release.
The design of the Baihetan hydropower station calls for installation of 16 1-GW hydraulic generators. Its first generators went into operation on June 28, and all are expected to be commissioned by July 2022.
CTG’s journey of having 100 power units built and commissioned, as well as creating the world’s largest clean energy corridor, began in the 1980s. In December 1988, the 2.7-GW Gezhouba hydropower station, equipped with 22 generators, completed construction and commenced operation. In July 2012, the 22.5-GW Three Gorges power station, with 34 power units, was completed and put into operation. In June 2014, the 13.86-GW Xiluodu hydropower station, with 18 generators, went into operation. In July 2014, the 6.4-GW Xiangjiaba hydropower station was completed and put into operation. With an installed capacity of 10.2 GW, the Wudongde hydropower station had all of its 12 generators commissioned in June 2021.
CTG says it respects and protects nature, prioritizing environmental conservation and green development in its planning, design, construction and full-lifecycle operation of clean energy projects. Its cascade stations deliver wide-ranging benefits, such as flood control, power generation, navigation, water replenishment and ecological conservation.
As of October, CTG’s cascade stations along the Yangtze River Basin had cumulatively produced nearly 2.8 trillion kWh of clean electricity, equivalent to saving more than 861 million tons of standard coal, and reducing emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide by over 2.3 billion tons, 559,500 tons and 532,300 tons, respectively.