The Baihetan hydropower plant, the world’s second-largest in terms of total installed capacity, has officially entered into service in southwest China following the commissioning of operation of two generating units on Monday.
The hydroelectricpower station is located on the Jinsha River in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River on the border between Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in the southwest of the country.
With a total installed capacity of 16 million kilowatts, the hydropower plant is equipped with 16 hydropower units each with a capacity of one million kilowatts, the largest unit capacity in the world.
In the underground power station, the first two units are operating stably. All units are expected to be operational by July 2022 and will produce on average more than 62.4 billion kWh per year.
When fully operational, the Baihetan project is expected to save approximately 19.68 million tonnes of coal and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 51.6 million tonnes, sulfur dioxide emissions by 170,000 tonnes, and emissions. of nitrogen oxides of 150,000 tons per year, according to the China Three Gorges Corporation (CTGC), builder of the plant.
