China completes construction of world’s second biggest hydro plant

China has completed the construction of the second biggest hydropower plant in the the world with 1-gigawatt (GW) combined capacity.

This was confirmed by the Country’s broadcaster CCTV on Tuesday.

The Three Gorges Dam, in China is the biggest hydroelectric dam in the world. The 2.3km-long concrete gravity dam is designed to control massive floods in the flood-prone upper sections of the Yangtze River by diverting them downstream. Equipped with 34 turbo generators, the power plant has an installed capacity of 22.5GW.

The facility according to CCTV has been connected to the national grid, emerging as the second largest hydro facility on the upstream branch of the Yangtze river.

The Baihetan hydropower plant is equipped with sixteen turbines, making it the second largest hydropower generator in China and the world, behind only the Three Gorges Project, also on the Yangtze river.

CCTV said that the power plant is estimated to generate 62.44 billion kilowatt-hour (kWh) annually, which could save about 90.45 million tons of coal a year and cut annual carbon dioxide emissions by 248.4 million tonnes.

Baihetan is one of six giant hydropower stations along the Yangtze river, China’s longest.

The Three Gorges Corporation, the project’s developer, has described the 289-metre (948.16 ft)dam and its associated infrastructure as one of the country’s biggest and most challenging engineering projects.

Construction began in 2017, with a total investment estimated at 170 billion yuan ($24.38 billion). As a major project in China’s west-east power transmission program, it will deliver electricity across the country to cities in the east.

China is pressing ahead with hydropower construction in the southwest, despite a long and punishing drought this summer that saw generation volumes plunge and forced regions to ration power consumption.