The hydropower station of the Three Gorges Project, the largest
hydro-electric project in the world, began to supply electricity to
energy-starved Guangdong Province on Sunday.
The power station is expected to transmit 8.16 billion kwh of
electricity to the south China province this year, equivalent to
the output of a new thermal-power plant, with an installed capacity
of 1.6 million kw.
Li Yong'an, general manager of the China Yangtze River Three
Gorges Project Development Corporation, said his corporation will
put more generators into operation and generate more electricity
this year.
Six generators went into operation in 2003, producing 8.6
billion kwh of electricity in total. Under the state target, the
Three Gorges Project will produce 30.9 billion kwh of electricity
this year.
To attain the production goal, four more generators, with an
installed capacity of 700,000 kw each, are scheduled to start
operation respectively in March, May, July and September this year
to bring the total number of generating units in operation to
ten.
Since the first generating unit began operation on July 10,
2003, the Three Gorges Project has transmitted electricity to 10
provinces and municipalities in central, eastern and southwestern
China.
The Three Gorges project is located at the Xiling Gorge Section
between the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River at
Sandouping Town in Yichang City, Hubei Province. With a total
investment of 180 billion yuan (US$21.76 billion), the project
started in 1993 and is scheduled for completion in 2009.
The power station is designed to have a total of 26 generating
units each with an installed capacity of 700,000 kw. When all units
are in operation, the station will be able to generate 84.7 billion
kwh of electricity annually.
(Xinhua News Agency February 9, 2004)