There are 6 large hydropower plants along the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River: O Dong Duc, Bach Hac Than, Khe Lac Do, Huong Gia Ba, Tam Hiep and Cat Chau Ba - forming the largest clean energy corridor in the world. world, stretching more than 1,800 km. There are currently 110 generators operating in this corridor.
Jizhoubo Hydropower Plant, located in Yichang, Hubei Province, central China, is the first large-scale water control project on the Yangtze River and a milestone in Chinese hydropower generation .
The first group of generating sets in Jizhouba was put into operation in 1981 and has operated safely for more than 40 years. By 2021, the 40th anniversary of operation, the cumulative electricity output of the Gezhou Ba hydropower plant will exceed 600 billion kilowatt hours (kWh), according to data from China Yangtze Electric Power Company.
After nearly half a century of planning and construction, the world's largest clean energy corridor was completed in December 2022, with the Bach Hac Than hydroelectric plant, located upstream of the Yangtze River, fully operational.
"Water from the Yangtze River passes through 6 hydroelectric plants in turn, meaning each drop of water is used to produce electricity 6 times" - an executive manager of the Bach Hac Than hydroelectric plant shared with Hoan Times. bridge.
The manager said that 1 m3 of water can produce 0.25 kWh of green electricity through the Tam Hiep hydroelectric plant. When operating all 6 hydroelectric plants together, 1 m3 of water can generate up to 2 kWh of electricity, helping to increase operating efficiency 8 times.
The total installed capacity of these 6 hydropower plants reaches 71.695 million kilowatts, producing about 300 billion kWh of clean electricity annually, which can meet the annual electricity needs of 360 million people, according to the Global Times.
By February 2024, the cumulative power output of six major hydropower plants in the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River has exceeded 3.5 trillion kWh, equivalent to saving more than 1 billion tons of standard coal and reducing more than 2.8 billion tons of CO2, creating a strong driving force for China's economic development.
According to calculations based on 713.7 kWh of electricity consumed per 10,000 yuan of GDP generated, the six terraced hydropower plants in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River generate more than 48,000 billion yuan (6,600 billion USD) for China's economic development , an industry insider shared with the Global Times.
In addition to generating electricity, dams along the Yangtze River also have reverse regulation capabilities, improving navigation and other benefits.
According to the Global Times, six cascade hydropower plants have raised water levels in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, allowing large cargo ships to enter waterways that were once too shallow for transport ships. In 2023, the Three Gorges hub in Hubei province transported 172.34 million tons of goods by water, an increase of 7.95% over the same period last year, setting a record high.
