World-class hydropower station in SW China starts operation

The first generating unit at the Shuangjiangkou Hydropower Station in southwest China's Sichuan Province was officially connected to the grid on Friday, marking the start of operations at the world-class hydropower project.

The station, located on the upper reaches of the Dadu River, has an installed capacity of 2 million kilowatts and is expected to generate about 7.7 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.

With a total reservoir capacity of approximately 2.9 billion cubic meters and a dam with a maximum designed height of 315 meters, the station will significantly enhance the regulating capacity of downstream hydropower stations and bolster flood control across the river basin.

The project was approved in 2015. After 11 years of construction, it has completed its second-stage reservoir impoundment and safely commissioned its first generating unit.

The station is also expected to play an important role in China's energy transition. Once fully operational, it will save an estimated 17 million tonnes of standard coal and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by around 46 million tonnes annually.

In addition to boosting the transmission of clean electricity from southwest China to other regions, the project will support the development of an integrated clean energy system combining hydropower, wind power and solar energy.