Hydropower

Hydropower
Investment and Operation of Hydropower

SPIC has the qualifications for development and EPC contracting of hydropower projects. SPIC carries forward the development and construction of cascade hydropower plants (HPPs) on the upper reaches of the Yellow River and the Yuanshui River drainage basin in Hunan in an orderly fashion. SPIC has successfully built two cascade hydropower clean energy bases in the above two regions.

SPIC has 145 HPPs in operation with a total installed capacity of 21,600 MW, distributed in 12 provinces including Qinghai, Hunan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Sichuan, etc. as well as overseas regions such as Australia, South America and Burma. SPIC also has been authorized the development right for hydroelectric projects on the upstream of Ayeyarwady, Burma. The planned total installed capacity is 21,600 MW, and the annual average generation capacity is about 114 TWh.

The HPPs with capacity over 1,000 MW, which have been putting into commercial operation, include Longyangxia HPP, Laxiwa HPP, Lijiaxia HPP, Gongboxia HPP, Jishixia HPP, Wuqiangxi HPP and Sanbanxi HPP. Eleven hydropower plants are under construction with a total installed capacity of 840 MW.

 
Development of the cascade HPP cluster on the upper reaches of the Yellow River

There are altogether 16 cascade HPPs on the upper reaches of the Yellow River with a total installed capacity of 17.18 GW. So far ten HPPs have been built with a total installed capacity of 10.39 GW.

 


 
Development of the cascade HPP clusters on the Yuanshui River

There are altogether seven cascade HPPs on the Yuanshui River drainage basin with a total installed capacity of 4,140 MW, all of which have been put into operation.

 

Representative projects
Laxiwa HPP

Laxiwa HPP is located in North China with the highest dam, largest installed capacity and largest generation capacity. The unit capacity is 700 MW and the total installed capacity is 3,500 MW. In 2010, all five units were put into operation and the annual average power generation is 10.2 TWh. The dam is of a concrete double-arch dam. The maximum dam height is 250m and the total storage is 1.1 billion m3.

 
 
Longyangxia HPP

It is the large-scale hydropower project designed and built by China independently, representing the highest level of China’s hydropower engineering in 1980s. The single unit capacity is 320 MW and the total installed capacity is 1,280 MW; the average annual power generation is 6 TWh.

 
Changzhou HPP

Located in the Pearl River Basin, due to its large scale and capacity, and large number of units, it is named as “world-class HPP with tubular turbines” by industry experts. It crosses two islands and three rivers, and is installed with 15 bulb type tubular turbines with a single unit capacity of 42 MW. Thirteen protection and drainage pumping stations were built in the reservoir area and two supporting substations were built.

 
 
Tuokou HPP

Tuokou HPP is located 3.5 km downstream of Tuokou Township, Hongjiang, Hunan Province and 74 km away from Huaihua, Hunan Province. It is the fourth cascade HPP on the Yuanshui River and the largest HPP project under construction in the Province.

 
Wuqiangxi HPP

It is the largest HPP in Hunan Province, with a single unit capacity of 240 MW and a total installed capacity of 1,200 MW. Its main function is to generate electricity, supplemented by flood control, navigation and other purposes.