China Huaneng Group's Lancang River Miaowei Hydropower Station Receives Approval from NDRC

Researched by Industrial Info Resources China (Beijing, China)--Upon consent from the State Council, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) approved China Huaneng Group's (Beijing) Lancang River Miaowei Hydropower Station on May 27, 2013, according to an announcement from HydroChina Corporation (Beijing), the project designer, on June 5.

The Miaowei Hydropower Station, located near Miaowei Village in Jiuzhou Town of Yunlong County, in southwestern China's Yunnan province, is the last downstream project in the "One-Reservoir, Seven-Step Cascade Development Scheme" planned for the upstream section of the Lancang River. The project has a total reservoir capacity of 660 million cubic meters, under a normal pool level of 1,408 meters above the sea level. This includes 159 million cubic meters of live capacity, which is capable for weekly regulation.

Yunnan Huaneng Lancang River Hydropower Company Limited (Kunming, Yunnan), a subsidiary of China Huaneng Group, with a joint investment from Yunnan Provincial Investment Holding Group Company Limited (Kunming, Yunnan) (31.4%) and Hongta Tobacco (Group) Company Limited (Kunming, Yunnan) (12.6%), is responsible for the development and future operations of the project.

According to the approval, the project mainly involves a 139.8-meter-high, earth core, rockfill dam; a left-bank spillway; a power diversion system; and a surface powerhouse furnished with four vertical Francis hydraulic turbine generating units, each of 350 megawatts (MW).

The project will be connected to China Southern Power Grid via 500-kilovolt transmission lines. The major purpose of the project will be power generation, with other diversified benefits in tourism and navigation. So far, the main equipment for the project has been awarded to Dongfang Electric Corporation (Chengdu, Sichuan).

With the receiving of approval from the NDRC, construction of the project is ready to kick off shortly. According to the schedule, the first unit of the project will begin commissioning in May 2015, and all four units will be put into operation in May 2016. Through a combined operation with the downstream Gongguoqiao hydropower station, the project will be able to have an annual output of about 6 billion kilowatt-hours upon completion.

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