People's Daily Beijing, January 20 (Reporter Du Yanfei) reporters learned from the Three Gorges Group that as of December 31, 2021, the Yangtze River main stream Gezhouba, Three Gorges, Xiangjiaba, Xiluodu, Baihetan, Wudongde and other six cascade hydropower stations have generated a total of 262.883 billion kWh of electricity throughout the year, setting a historical record, equivalent to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 220 million tons, which also means that the Yangtze River Basin has become the world's largest clean energy corridor.
Three Gorges Power Station. Courtesy of respondents
At present, the cascade hydropower station can use about 30 billion cubic meters of water and store about 21 billion kWh of energy, laying a solid foundation for the peak period of electricity consumption this winter and next spring, the heating period in winter, and the dry period of hydropower, and fully protecting the people's livelihood.
Wudongde Hydroelectric Power Station. Courtesy of respondents
According to the relevant person in charge of the Three Gorges Group, in 2021, with the 4 units of Wudongde Power Station and 6 units of Baihetan Power Station generating electricity on schedule, the number of hydro-generator sets operated and managed by the Three Gorges Group on the main stream of the Yangtze River exceeded 100, providing strong support for the implementation of the major national strategy of "west-to-east power transmission".
Baihetan Hydropower Station. Courtesy of respondents
On January 18, 2022, the rotor of the last megawatt hydropower unit (No. 9) of Baihetan Hydropower Station was hoisted into place, marking the completion of the installation of all 16 megawatt hydropower unit rotors of Baihetan Hydropower Station, and the countdown to the commissioning of all units.
Gezhouba Hydropower Station. Courtesy of respondents
The person in charge said that in terms of flood control, shipping and other benefits, the Three Gorges Group scientifically carried out the joint dispatch of six reservoirs, and coordinated the decline, flood prevention and water storage work of cascade power stations. In 2021, the Three Gorges Dam has accumulated 17.2 billion cubic meters of floodwater storage; the cascade reservoirs in the dry period have accumulated more than 34 billion cubic meters of water downstream, increasing the water depth of the middle and lower reaches of the shipping by 0.9 meters, improving the navigation conditions of the "golden waterway" of the main stream of the Yangtze River, and effectively ensuring the downstream spring ploughing and production and domestic water demand.
Xiangjiaba Hydropower Station. Courtesy of respondents
At the same time, in 2021, the Three Gorges Group carried out a total of 8 ecological dispatches, during which the total spawning volume of fish in the lower reaches of Gezhouba exceeded 12.4 billion, of which the spawn scale of four major fish exceeded 8.4 billion, which was the highest in the calendar year, promoting the continuous improvement of the ecological environment of the Yangtze River.
Xiluodu Hydropower Station. Courtesy of respondents
According to the data, the annual renewable energy generation capacity of the Three Gorges Group in 2021 exceeded 340 billion kWh, an increase of 9.5% year-on-year, ranking first in the world. Up to now, the installed capacity of renewable energy of the Three Gorges Group has exceeded 100 million kilowatts, of which the installed capacity of hydropower accounts for nearly 70%, and at the same time, it has provided renewable energy such as hydropower, wind power and solar power generation to nearly 50 countries and regions around the world, with a total installed capacity of more than 1100 kilowatts.
Source: People's Daily News