The Three Gorges Dam is the largest power station (of any kind) in the world by installed capacity, with 22.5 GW.
Satellite picture of the Longyangxia Dam reservoir and solar power park
Three Gorges Dam compared to all other Chinese hydroelectricity production

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.[1]

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.[1]

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
Three Gorges Yangtze 2008 22,500 98.8[12] 1,084
Baihetan Dam Jinsha 2022 16,000 60.24[13]
Xiluodu Jinsha 2014[14] 13,860[15] 55.2
Xiangjiaba Jinsha 2014[16] 7,750[17] 30.7 95.6
Longtan Hongshui 2007/2009 6,426 18.7[18]
Nuozhadu Mekong 2014[19] 5,850 23.9[20] 320
Jinping-II Yalong 2014 4,800
Laxiwa Yellow 2010 4,200[21] 10.2
Xiaowan Mekong 2010 4,200[22] 19 190
Jinping-I Yalong 2014 3,600 17 82.5
Ertan Dam Yalong 1999 3,300 17 101
Pubugou Dam Dadu 2009/2010 3,300 14.6
Goupitan Dam Wu 2009/2011 3,000[23] 9.67 94
Guanyinyan Dam Jinsha 2014/2016 3,000 13.62
Gezhouba Dam Yangtze 1988 2,715 17.01
Jinanqiao Dam Jinsha 2010 2,400
Liyuan Dam Jinsha 2014/2015 2,400
Guandi Dam Yalong 2013 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 Jinsha December 2021 10,200   26°20′02″N 102°37′48″E / 26.33389°N 102.63000°E / 26.33389; 102.63000 (Wudongde Dam)
Fengning PS[24][25][26] 丰宁抽水蓄能电站 3,600  
Hongping PS[27] 洪屏抽水蓄能电站 2,400  


Huanggou PS[24][25][26] 荒沟抽水蓄能电站 1,200  
Hohhot PS[24][25][26] 呼和浩特抽水蓄能电站 1,200  
Panlong PS[24][25][26] 蟠龙抽水蓄能电站 1,200  
Shenzhen PS[24][25][26] 深圳抽水蓄能电站 1,200  
Tianchi PS[24][25][26] 天池抽水蓄能电站 1,200  
Wendeng PS[24][25][26] 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.[29] Installed hydroelectric capacity grew somewhat after the 1960s, with plants of growing size and complexity, reaching a total of 20 GW in 1980.[29]

As of 2020, China had more than 150 dams with generating capacity of more than 300 megawatts and installed capacity of 369 gigawatts.[30]: 203 

As of 2021, China operates four of the world's six largest dams.[30]: 201  These include the world's biggest (Three Gorges Dam, with 22.5 gigawatts capacity) and second biggest (Baihetan Dam).[30]: 201 

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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hydroelectric power in China.

References

  1. ^ a b c Walker, Qin (29 July 2015). "The Hidden Costs of China's Shift to Hydropower". The Diplomat. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  2. ^ "Hydropower Status Report – Sector Trends and Insights" (PDF). International Hydropower Association. 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  3. ^ "2021 Hydropower Status Report" (PDF). assets-global.website-files.com. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  4. ^ "Country Rankings". /Statistics/View-Data-by-Topic/Capacity-and-Generation/Country-Rankings. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  5. ^ "Statistical Review of World Energy 2022" (PDF). BP. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  6. ^ "Country Rankings". /Statistics/View-Data-by-Topic/Capacity-and-Generation/Country-Rankings. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  7. ^ "China | International Hydropower Association". www.hydropower.org. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  8. ^ "2018 electricity & other energy statistics". China Energy Portal | 中国能源门户. 2019-01-25. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  9. ^ "Renewable Energy Prospects: China" (PDF). International Renewable Energy Agency. November 2014.
  10. ^ Hvistendahl, Mara. "China's Three Gorges Dam: An Environmental Catastrophe?". Scientific American. Retrieved 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. ^ "China's Three Gorges dam 'breaks world hydropower record'".
  13. ^ Directors, Hydro Review Content (2021-06-28). "16-GW Baihetan hydropower plant begins operating in China". Hydro Review. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
  14. ^ "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. ^ "China's second-largest hydropower station in full operation". Archived from the original on July 7, 2014.
  16. ^ 马常艳. "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". Archived from the original on 2017-08-16. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  17. ^ reduper (13 September 2022). "Xiangjiaba Dam". Super Engineering Website. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
  18. ^ "龙滩水电站创世界建设最快纪录--能源--人民网". Archived from the original on 2011-08-26. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  19. ^ "云南省最大水电站糯扎渡水电站全面建成投产". Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  20. ^ "Largest hydropower station on Mekong River starts operation - Xinhua | English.news.cn". Archived from the original on 2014-08-26. Retrieved 2014-08-27.
  21. ^ "中国水电承建拉西瓦水电站首批5台机组全部投产". Archived from the original on 2010-08-26. Retrieved 2010-08-26.
  22. ^ "小湾电站机组全部投产 我国水电装机突破2亿千瓦". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03.
  23. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2011-07-07.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  24. ^ a b c d e f g List of pumped-storage power plants in China 1 (Mandarin) Archived 2011-07-07 at the Wayback Machine
  25. ^ a b c d e f g List of pumped-storage power plants in China 2 (Mandarin) Archived 2011-07-07 at the Wayback Machine
  26. ^ a b c d e f g List of pumped-storage power plants in China 3 (Mandarin) Archived 2011-07-07 at the Wayback Machine
  27. ^ Yichin Power- List of all of the information Archived 2011-07-07 at the Wayback Machine
  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. doi:10.1080/07341512.2022.2112295. ISSN 0734-1512.
  29. ^ a b c Kang, Xiaofeng. "Hydropower Development in China History and Narratives" (PDF). Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  30. ^ a b c Harrell, Stevan (2023). An Ecological History of Modern China. Seattle: University of Washington Press. ISBN 9780295751719.
  31. ^ "China's Era of Mega-Dams Is Ending as Solar and Wind Power Rise". Bloomberg.com. 2020-07-03. Retrieved 2021-04-09.
  32. ^ Brigham, Katie (2022-06-02). "Why hydropower is the forgotten giant of clean energy". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-08-06.
  33. ^ Gan, Nectar (2020-07-31). "China's Three Gorges Dam is one of the largest ever created. Was it worth it?". CNN. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
  34. ^ Walker, Beth; Qin, Liu (2020-07-31). "The Hidden Costs of China's Shift to Hydropower". The Diplomat. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
  35. ^ a b Yardley, Jim (2007-11-14). "Chinese dam projects criticized for their human costs". New York Times. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
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