The first unit of Maerdang hydropower station in northwestern China's Qinghai, a key national energy project, was connected to the grid for power generation on April 1, state media CCTV reported, citing its operator China Energy Investment Corporation (CHN Energy).
Maerdang hydropower station, siutated along the upper reaches of the Yellow River, is the highest-altitude hydropower station under construction with the largest installed capacity. By harnessing the abundant clean energy resources in western China, the station aims to meet the energy demands of eastern regions while promoting environmental sustainability.
The first operational unit boasts an installed capacity of 550 MW, expected to generate 13.2 GWh of green electricity each day, which could meet the daily electricity demand of 1.1 million households.
The station has four units with a capacity of 550 MW each, one with a capacity of 120 MW, and a supporting 750-kV UHV substation.
It is understood that all the units will come online by December 2024. Once fully operational, the station will generate more than 7.30 TWh of electricity every year, equivalent to reducing standard coal consumption by about 2.2 million tonnes annually, carbon dioxide emissions by roughly 8.16 million tonnes and sulfur dioxide emissions by about 30,400 tonnes.
This project represents a cornerstone in CHN Energy's approach towards clean energy development in Qinghai, incorporating hydropower, wind power, solar power, and energy storage.
According to its plan, the integrated capacity of all sources totals 31.12 GW, including 3.42 GW of conventional hydropower, 4.2 GW of pumped storage, 21 GW of photovoltaic power, and 2.5 GW of wind power, the company said.
Last year, CHN Energy achieved a notable milestone with record-high installations of renewable energy projects, totaling 320 GW of power generation capacity in 2023, accounting for 35.5% of the company's total.
(Writing by Riley Liang Editing by Alex Guo)
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