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Increase in Three Gorges Project’s power output

PHOTO: XINHUA

COST-EFFECTIVE ENERGY: The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River in Yichang City of central China's Hubei Province.

YICHANG: The China Three Gorges Project Corporation (CTGPC) has confirmed that, despite a decrease in water inflow, it generated nearly five billion kilowatt/hour of electricity more in January-June period of this year than in the first half of last year.

It produced 32.23 billion kw/hour of power in the first half of this year, though the water inflow volume monitored at the massive Three Gorges reservoir was 126 billion cubic metres, a decline of 3.6 per cent from an average of the past years, and the power generation was 4.72 billion kw/hour more than power output for January-June period last year, said the company in a statement.

The corporation has kept the water level in the reservoir at a mark of 145 metres since early June as the Yangtze River has been in a flood season.

Launched in 1993, the Three Gorges Project is a multifunctional hydroelectric facility built near Yichang in central China’s Hubei Province to tame the unruly Yangtze River and fuel China’s economic development with clean and cheap energy. The other functions include flood control and shipping.

The project has completed most of its main projects, including a 185-metre-high dam, a five-tier ship lock and 32 generators, 26 of which are on the river banks and were put into operation by October last year — with installed capacity totalling 18.2 million kw.

As of April 7, the world’s largest hydroelectric project had generated 300 billion kw/h of electricity since its first generator was put into operation in July 2003.

The amount is equivalent to 8.8 per cent of the national consumption last year.

Vice-Premier Li Keqiang has called for efforts to intensify construction and management of the project and to improve its functions in flood control as the region is now in the peak flood season. — Xinhua

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