Hydroelectricity in China explained

Hydroelectricity is currently China's largest renewable energy source and the second overall after coal.[1] According to the International Hydropower Association, China is the worlds largest producer of hydroelectricity as of 2021.[2] China's installed hydroelectric capacity in 2021 was 390.9 GW, including 36.4 GW of pumped storage hydroelectricity capacity, up from 233 GW in 2011. [3] [4] That year, hydropower generated 1,300 TWh of power, [5] an increase of 68 TWh over 2018 when hydropower generated 1,232 TWh of power, accounting for roughly 18% of China's total electricity generation.[6] [7] [8]

Due to China's insufficient reserves of fossil fuels and the government's preference for energy independence, hydropower plays a big part in the energy policy of the country.China's potential hydropower capacity is estimated at up to 400 GW.[9] There is therefore considerable potential for further hydro development.

As of 2015, hydroelectric plants in China had a relatively low productivity with an average capacity factor of 31%, due to seasonal variability of rainfall, rapid construction, and significant energy loss due to need for long transmission lines to connect remote dams in the mountainous south-west to demand in southern China.

Although hydroelectricity represents the largest renewable and low greenhouse gas emissions energy source in the country, the social and environmental impact of dam construction in China has been large, with millions of people forced to relocate and large scale damage to the environment.[10]

Largest hydroelectric plants

- ! Name Chinese name ! River Years of completion ! Installed
capacity
(MW)
Annual
production
(TW-hour)[11] ! Area
flooded
(km2)
Location ! Coordinates - 2008 data-sort-value="22500" 22,500 data-sort-value=98.898.8[12] 1,084
Baihetan DamJinsha202216,00060.24[13]
2014[14] data-sort-value="13860" 13,860[15] 55.2 - 2014[16] data-sort-value="6448" 7,750[17] 30.7 95.6 - 2007/2009 data-sort-value="6426" 6,426 18.7[18] - 2014[19] data-sort-value="5850" 5,850 23.9[20] 320- 2014 data-sort-value="4800" 4,800 - 2010 data-sort-value="4200" 4,200[21] 10.2 - 2010 data-sort-value="4200" 4,200[22] 19 190 - 2014 data-sort-value="3600" 3,600 17 82.5 - 1999 data-sort-value="3300" 3,300 17 101 - 2009/2010 data-sort-value="3300" 3,300 14.6 - 2009/2011 data-sort-value="3000" 3,000[23] 9.67 94 - 2014/2016 data-sort-value="3000" 3,000 13.62 - Yangtze 1988 data-sort-value="3715" 2,715 17.01 - 2010 data-sort-value="2400" 2,400 - Jinsha 2014/2015 data-sort-value="2400" 2,400 - Yalong2013 data-sort-value="2400" 2,400

Under construction

- ! Name Chinese name ! River Expected completion ! Expected
capacity
(MW)
Expected
production
(TW-hour) ! Area
flooded
(km2)
Location ! Coordinates
Wudongde Dam乌东德水电站 JinshaDecember 2021 10,200  26.3339°N 102.63°W
丰宁抽水蓄能电站 3,600  
Hongping PS[24] 洪屏抽水蓄能电站 2,400  
Huanggou PS[25] [26] [27] 荒沟抽水蓄能电站 1,200  
呼和浩特抽水蓄能电站 1,200  
蟠龙抽水蓄能电站 1,200  
深圳抽水蓄能电站 1,200  
天池抽水蓄能电站 1,200  
文登抽水蓄能电站 1,800  

History

The Shilongba Hydropower Station is the first hydroelectric power plant in China.[28] It was built in Yunnan province in 1912, with a capacity of 240 kW. Due to the subsequent period of political and social instability, little additional progress was made in power infrastructure in the country at that time. The total installed capacity before the Japanese occupation was only about 10 MW. During the Japanese occupation several large scale hydroelectric projects were built, and total capacity reached 900 MW. Energy infrastructure however suffered heavy damage during the second World War, and the operational capacity after the war was only about 580 MW.[29]

After the Chinese Communist Revolution of 1949, a program of dam construction was initiated. However, most of these dams were built for irrigation and not intended to produce electricity. Moreover, construction was carried out mostly by unskilled peasants. During this period, the steady supply of cheap domestic coal hindered the development of hydroelectricity.Installed hydroelectric capacity grew somewhat after the 1960s, with plants of growing size and complexity, reaching a total of 20 GW in 1980.

As of 2020, China had more than 150 dams with a generating capacity of at least 300 megawatts and total installed capacity of 369 gigawatts.[30]

As of 2021, China operates four of the world's six largest dams. These include the world's biggest (Three Gorges Dam, with 22.5 gigawatts capacity) and second biggest (Baihetan Dam).

After completion of the Baihetan Dam in 2021, all planned large scale dams had been completed.[31]

Environmental and human impact

Hydropower is considered a renewable and clean energy source.[32] However large dams, such as the Three Gorges Dam or the Xiluodu Dam have had human and environmental impacts on the areas surrounding dam reservoirs, including erosion, flooding of farmland and destruction of fish breeding habitats.[33] [34] [35] Then Prime Minister Wen Jiabao noted in a report to the National People's Congress in 2007 that dam building in China had displaced 23 million people over the years.[35]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Walker. Qin. The Hidden Costs of China's Shift to Hydropower. 1 November 2016. The Diplomat. 29 July 2015.
  2. Web site: 2021 . Hydropower Status Report – Sector Trends and Insights . April 22, 2022 . International Hydropower Association.
  3. Web site: 2021 Hydropower Status Report . 12 October 2023 . assets-global.website-files.com.
  4. Web site: Country Rankings . 2021-03-12 . /Statistics/View-Data-by-Topic/Capacity-and-Generation/Country-Rankings . en.
  5. Web site: Statistical Review of World Energy 2022 . 12 October 2023 . BP.
  6. Web site: Country Rankings. 2021-03-12. /Statistics/View-Data-by-Topic/Capacity-and-Generation/Country-Rankings. en.
  7. Web site: China International Hydropower Association. www.hydropower.org. 1 November 2016.
  8. Web site: 2019-01-25. 2018 electricity & other energy statistics. 2021-03-12. China Energy Portal 中国能源门户. en.
  9. Web site: November 2014. Renewable Energy Prospects: China. International Renewable Energy Agency.
  10. Web site: Hvistendahl. Mara. China's Three Gorges Dam: An Environmental Catastrophe?. Scientific American. 1 November 2016.
  11. Generating capacity is not the only factor determining the amount of electricity generated, as this also depends on consistent utilization of the plant's capacity. Factors enhancing this are the free capacity of the reservoir and the consistency of water supply during and across years.
  12. Web site: China's Three Gorges dam 'breaks world hydropower record'.
  13. Web site: Directors . Hydro Review Content . 2021-06-28 . 16-GW Baihetan hydropower plant begins operating in China . 2022-12-21 . Hydro Review . en-US.
  14. Web site: 世界第三大水电站溪洛渡水电站机组全部投产--能源--人民网.
  15. Web site: China's second-largest hydropower station in full operation. https://web.archive.org/web/20140707154321/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2014-07/02/c_133453148.htm. dead. July 7, 2014.
  16. Web site: 中国第三大水电站向家坝水电站将全部投产发电_中国经济网——国家经济门户. 马常艳. 2016-11-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20170816060714/http://www.ce.cn/xwzx/gnsz/gdxw/201406/28/t20140628_3058868.shtml. 2017-08-16. dead.
  17. Web site: reduper . Xiangjiaba Dam . 2022-12-21 . Super Engineering Website . 13 September 2022 . en-US.
  18. Web site: 龙滩水电站创世界建设最快纪录--能源--人民网. 2016-11-01. 2011-08-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20110826075544/http://energy.people.com.cn/GB/7650064.html. dead.
  19. Web site: 云南省最大水电站糯扎渡水电站全面建成投产. 2016-11-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20140714171646/http://yn.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2014-06/27/c_133441204.htm. 2014-07-14. dead.
  20. Web site: Largest hydropower station on Mekong River starts operation - Xinhua | English.news.cn . 2014-08-27 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140826115750/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2012-09/06/c_131832819.htm . 2014-08-26 .
  21. Web site: 中国水电承建拉西瓦水电站首批5台机组全部投产 . 2010-08-26 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100826070323/http://www.sasac.gov.cn/n1180/n1226/n2410/n314274/7508740.html . 2010-08-26 .
  22. Web site: 小湾电站机组全部投产 我国水电装机突破2亿千瓦. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303232204/http://www.yn.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2010-08/25/content_20718495.htm. 2016-03-03.
  23. Web site: Archived copy . 2011-07-07 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110707050217/http://www.hydropower.org.cn/info/shownews.asp?newsid=2122 . 2011-07-07 .
  24. http://www.ycfgw.gov.cn/Pub/ZhongDianGongCheng/HongPingChouShuiXuNengDianZhan/index.html Yichin Power- List of all of the information
  25. http://www.psp.org.cn:8080/upload/news/n2008101309103489.pdf List of pumped-storage power plants in China 1 (Mandarin)
  26. http://www.psp.org.cn:8080/upload/news/n2008101309124620.pdf List of pumped-storage power plants in China 2 (Mandarin)
  27. http://www.psp.org.cn:8080/upload/news/n2008101309031157.pdf List of pumped-storage power plants in China 3 (Mandarin)
  28. Ghosh . Arunabh . 2023 . Multiple makings at China's first hydroelectric power station at Shilongba, 1908–1912 . History and Technology . 38 . 2–3 . 167–185 . en . 10.1080/07341512.2022.2112295 . 0734-1512. free .
  29. Web site: Kang. Xiaofeng. Hydropower Development in China History and Narratives. 1 November 2016.
  30. Book: Harrell, Stevan . An Ecological History of Modern China . . 2023 . 9780295751719 . Seattle.
  31. News: 2020-07-03. China's Era of Mega-Dams Is Ending as Solar and Wind Power Rise. en. Bloomberg.com. 2021-04-09.
  32. Web site: Brigham . Katie . 2022-06-02 . Why hydropower is the forgotten giant of clean energy . 2022-08-06 . CNBC . en.
  33. Web site: Nectar . Gan . 2020-07-31 . China's Three Gorges Dam is one of the largest ever created. Was it worth it? . 2023-05-21 . CNN . en.
  34. Web site: Beth . Walker . Liu . Qin . 2020-07-31 . The Hidden Costs of China's Shift to Hydropower . 2023-05-21 . The Diplomat . en.
  35. Web site: Jim . Yardley . 2007-11-14 . Chinese dam projects criticized for their human costs . 2023-05-21 . New York Times . en.