China operates high-altitude Maerdang Hydropower Station in Qinghai

The first unit of the Maerdang Hydropower Station on the upper reaches of the Yellow River was put into operation on Monday, said its operator, China Energy Investment Corp, also known as China Energy. The hydropower station was the highest-altitude facility of its kind with the largest installed capacity in the Yellow River basin. 

Located at an altitude of 5,000 meters above sea level in northwest China's Qinghai Province, the first unit of the Maerdang Hydropower Station has an installed capacity of 550,000 kilowatts. It is expected to generate 13.2 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green electricity everyday, which can meet the daily electricity demand of 1.1 million families, said China Energy.

Upon full operation, the power station, with a total installed capacity of 2.32 million kilowatts, will be capable of generating an average of more than 7.3 billion kWh of electricity per year, offsetting 2.56 million tonnes of standard coal consumption and 8.16 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emission, according to the company.

The project is China Energy's first integrated clean energy facility involving hydropower, solar power and energy storage. It will take better advantage of the abundant clean energy in the western parts of China to benefit the energy-hungry eastern regions, the company said.

In addition, a 750-kilovolt (kV) ultra-high voltage substation, the highest of its kind in China, was put into operation last September as part of the China Energy Qinghai Maerdang Hydropower Station.

The new substation has raised the voltage grade of the power transmission network in the Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai from 330 kV to 750 kV.  It is the first intelligent substation equipped with a counter-unmanned aircraft system in Qinghai, capable of capturing signals of intruding unmanned aircraft and turning on defense mode to intercept unidentified drones.

It can transmit about 15 billion kWh of clean electricity every year, facilitating the use of water resources and clean energy development on the upper reaches of the Yellow River, according to Gu Faming, deputy head of the mechanical and electrical center of the China Energy Qinghai Maerdang Hydropower Station.