Hydropower to Play Key Role in China's Power Industry Development Plan

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Hydropower will be a top priority for China, according to the development principle specified in the country's Power Industry Development Plan, which is part of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15) and has been submitted to related state departments, such as the National Development and Reform Commission and the State Electricity Regulatory Commission. The Power Industry Development Plan is expected to be released later this year.

China mainly relies on coal power generation, which accounts for 70% of the total power consumption. Hydropower development is seen as a leading solution to the mounting pressure to conserve energy, reduce emissions and address the power shortage. China is rich in hydropower resources, especially as there are still plenty of water resources in regions such as Sichuan, Yunnan and Tibet that have not been exploited. According to the outline for Hydropower Development in the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), China will kick off construction of 120 gigawatts (MW) of new hydropower projects, and the total installed capacity of conventional hydropower will reach 284 GW. This capacity could be further expanded to 330 GW in 2020.

China's installed capacity of hydropower surpassed 200 GW in 2010. However, due to concerns about environmental protection and resettlement issues, no large hydropower projects received approval from the government until late in 2010. Although 70 GW of new hydropower projects were planned during the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10), only 20 GW of new hydropower projects were approved. Some of the projects that did not receive approval in the 11th Five-Year Plan will be taken up again with the new projects.

To solve these problems, China will establish a responsibility system for the state, enterprise and local governments in hydropower development. Meanwhile, project quality and safety management will be strengthened. An internal quality supervision and management system and a lifetime quality responsibility system will be established under the organization of the project owner, with the participation of project designers, contractors, supervisors, manufacturers, erectors, testers and operators.

Insiders believe that the target will be further expanded to more than 300 GW in 2015 as nuclear power development is hindered by the safety issue and the development of solar energy and wind power are limited. As an emerging force in the power industry, solar energy and wind energy will be further promoted during the 12th Five-Year Plan. According to the drafted plan, the installed capacity of photovoltaic power in China will reach 5 GW and 90 GW for wind power in 2015.

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