China Plans to Build 25,439 Megawatts of Hydropower on the Yellow River

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Hydropower development upstream of the Yellow River has entered into a golden period. As one of 12 key hydropower bases proposed in the nation's "Eleventh Five-Year Plan" in regard to energy, 37 or 38 cascade hydropower projects with a total installed capacity of 25,439 megawatts (MW) will be built in the river section. Presently, Huanghe Upstream Hydropower Development Company Limited (Xining, Qinghai) is accelerating the construction of a large-scaled hydropower base based on a rolling-development plan in the valley.

The proposed hydropower base will be located in the river section from the outlet of Eling Lake to Qingtong Gorge in the Ningxia Autonomous Region, crossing Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu and Ningxia provinces with a total length of 2,383 kilometers and a total water drop of 3,135 meters. The river section from Longyang Gorge to Qingtong Gorge is considered to have the most favorable conditions for hydropower development. This section has a total length of 918 kilometers and a water drop of 1,324 meters. About 25 large and midsize hydropower stations with a total installed capacity of 17,010 MW and an annual power output of 60.2 billion kilowatt-hours are planned for this section.

Huanghe Upstream Hydropower, a large energy enterprise under the control of China Power Investment Corporation (Beijing), is responsible for the development of hydropower on the mainstream of the Yellow River. The company plans to expand its installed capacity to 11,000 MW in 2010 and to more than 20,000 MW in 2020, Chairman Xia Zhong said.

So far, 13 hydropower projects with a total installed capacity of about 6,900 MW have been built upstream of the Yellow River, accounting for about two-fifths of the total exploitable capacity. About one-fifth of the total exploitable capacity is currently under construction or being preparation, and another two-fifths remain to be developed.

Of the 5,600 MW of hydropower projects currently under construction, the Jishixia Hydropower Station has a total planned capacity of 1,020 MW and is expected to have all three units in operation in 2010. The 4,200-MW Laxiwa Hydropower Station, the largest project planned in the Yellow River valley, is expected to have its first three 700-MW units in operation next year and be complete in 2011.

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