Lead
The "Three Gorges Dam" is the largest hydropower project in the mainland and the largest hydropower station in the world, known as the "world's largest dam", and the installed capacity of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station is also the largest in the world, reaching 22.5 million kilowatts.
However, the Three Gorges Hydropower Station is not the world's largest hydropower station, and it is not even as good as the second-ranked Itaipu hydropower station.
1. The power generation of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station is not as good as that of the Itaipu Hydropower Station.
Although the Three Gorges Hydropower Station has the largest installed capacity in the world, the annual power generation capacity of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station is not as good as that of the Itaipu Hydropower Station.
The annual power generation capacity of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station is only 108 million kilowatt hours in the most efficient years, while the annual power generation capacity of the Itaipu Hydropower Station can reach 140 million kilowatt hours, which is 30 million kilowatt hours more than the power generation capacity of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station.
Why is the power generation capacity of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station inferior to that of the Itaipu Hydropower Station?
There are two main reasons why the power generation of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station is not as good as that of the Itaipu Hydropower Station: one is the flood discharge of the Yangtze River during the flood season, and the other is the power generation efficiency of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station.
The Three Gorges Hydropower Station is not as good as the Itaipu Hydropower Station because the Yangtze River needs to be discharged during the flood season, although the Three Gorges Hydropower Station has a large installed capacity, but during the flood discharge period of the Yangtze River, it cannot generate electricity from all the runoff of the Yangtze River, and can only use a part of the runoff to generate electricity.
When the flood is discharged during the flood season, the Three Gorges Hydropower Station will determine the flow and time of the flood discharge according to the power generation plan and the flood control level of the downstream rivers, and only after the flow of the flood discharge is greater than the flood control standard flow of the downstream rivers, the Three Gorges Hydropower Station will use the excess runoff to generate electricity.
The power generation efficiency of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station refers to how much runoff from the Yangtze River runoff is generated by the Three Gorges Hydropower Station in a year, and if the power generation efficiency of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station is 1, then it means that the Three Gorges Hydropower Station generates all the runoff from the Yangtze River in a year.
If the power generation efficiency of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station is less than 1, it means that the Three Gorges Hydropower Station has generated electricity from a part of the runoff of the Yangtze River during the year, or the Three Gorges Hydropower Station has stored excess water during the power generation period, and if the power generation efficiency of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station is greater than 1, it means that the Three Gorges Hydropower Station has replenished water while generating electricity during the year, and the reservoir storage capacity has increased.
When the Three Gorges Hydropower Station is used for power generation, it is necessary to determine the flow and time of power generation according to the water demand of the downstream, the hydrological conditions of the downstream and the storage capacity of the reservoir, if the runoff of the Yangtze River during the wet season is used for power generation, then the water demand of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River cannot be satisfied, and if the flow of power generation is less than the excess water flow in the runoff of the Yangtze River, then the excess water flow will be stored, so as to improve the power generation efficiency of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station.
One of the reasons why the Three Gorges Hydropower Station is not as efficient as the Itaipu Hydropower Station is that the power generation efficiency of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station is only 0.95, which means that the Three Gorges Hydropower Station stores 5% of the runoff from the Yangtze River in a year.
The power generation efficiency of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station is only 0.95, which means that the Three Gorges Hydropower Station does not store the excess water flow in the process of power generation, so the power generation capacity of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station should be the power generation of the excess 5% of the water flow in the runoff of the Yangtze River, so the power generation of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station should be 120 million kilowatt hours, which is not as good as the power generation of the Itaipu Hydropower Station.
2. The power generation efficiency of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station.
The power generation efficiency of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station is only 0.95, because the runoff of the Yangtze River during the wet season is large, and the power generation efficiency of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station will be reduced, and the lower the power generation efficiency of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station, the less power generation will be.
The power generation efficiency of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station will gradually decline with the gradual construction of reservoirs in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and the reason for the reduction of the power generation efficiency of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station is that the reservoirs in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River will also generate a part of the runoff, so the Three Gorges Hydropower Station in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River will not be able to generate electricity.
The Three Gorges Hydropower Station will store more and more water in the reservoir, and the power generation efficiency of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station will become lower and lower, so the power generation capacity of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station will become less and less.
However, the power generation of the Itaipu hydropower plant does not decrease, and the power generation of the Itaipu hydropower station mainly benefits from the precipitation of the South American rainforest, which is very rich in precipitation, so the runoff in the basin of the Itaipu hydropower station is also very abundant.
The reservoir storage capacity of the Itaipu hydropower plant is very large, and the larger the reservoir storage capacity of the Itaipu hydropower station, the greater the power generation capacity of the Itaipu hydropower station, so the power generation capacity of the Itaipu hydropower station can reach 140 million kilowatt hours.
The Three Gorges Hydropower Station originally had a great power generation advantage, but because of the power generation efficiency of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station, the power generation of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station was not as good as that of the Itaipu Hydropower Station.
Therefore, when constructing the Three Gorges Hydropower Station, it is necessary to consider not only the flood control and power generation functions of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station, but also the power generation efficiency of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station.
In order to improve the power generation efficiency of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station, it is necessary to store the excess water, but if the excess water flow is stored, the excess water flow cannot be used to generate electricity, so it can be considered to store the excess water flow, and then use other technical means to generate electricity through other technical means during the water use period.
For example, through the storage power generation technology, the excess water flow is stored, and then during the water use period, the stored water flow is used to generate electricity, and the excess water flow can be used to generate electricity and improve the power generation efficiency.
The energy storage power generation technology can generate electricity from the excess water flow and improve the power generation efficiency, but the cost of the energy storage power generation technology is very high, and it will also damage the equipment of the hydropower station, so the excess water flow can be used to generate electricity by other technical means to improve the power generation efficiency.
III. Conclusion
The power generation of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station is not as good as that of the Itaipu Hydropower Station, mainly because the power generation efficiency of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station is not high, so the power generation efficiency of the hydropower station must be taken into account when the hydropower station is constructed.
When building hydropower stations, it is necessary to take into account factors such as climate change, adopt more flexible dispatching strategies, and adjust power generation plans according to different seasons and climatic conditions to improve power generation efficiency.
At the same time, it is also necessary to research and develop more effective hydropower station design and management models to improve the overall efficiency and sustainability of hydropower generation, and at the same time explore the combination of hydropower and other clean energy sources, such as wind and solar energy, to achieve energy complementarity and optimize energy utilization.
Strengthen the exchange of experience and cooperation among international hydropower stations, jointly explore solutions to technical and management challenges in the field of hydropower generation, and promote the development of hydropower generation.