The Maerdang hydropower station in China is expected to begin its operations in March 2024, as reported by Electrek.
The hydropower station is considered the highest-altitude facility of its kind, constructed in Qinghai province. It stands at 5,000 meters above sea level on the Yellow River.
The facility will have a total installed capacity of 2.2 million kilowatts and can generate an average of over 7 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year once operational. China Energy's first integrated renewable facility includes hydropower, solar, and energy storage.
The hydropower station will help eliminate 2.56 million metric tons of standard coal equivalent consumption and 8.16 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
Still the World's Largest Coal Miner
Despite being the leader in renewable energy in the world, it's still known that China is the largest coal miner and consumer. In the first two months of 2023, the country's coal output rose by 5.8 percent, according to Reuters.
The spike is due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in which Beijing had to prioritize its energy security.
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Making Significant Progress
The Chinese government has urged miners to speed up coal production since the power crunch in 2021, but the country is generating less coal-based power. Also, in 2021, the country added around 23 GW of new hydropower capacity, which brought total hydro capacity to 16 percent of the power mix.
Solar is also growing rapidly in the country. Indeed, China is well ahead of everybody else in the country regarding renewable energy.
Also, the abundant hydropower is shutting down the demand for LNG, which helps cap global prices. The drop in demand can move it down a notch to become the world's no. 2 importer after Japan.
Gas may be used only as a last resort when more cost-competitive options have been used.
In 2022, the country also finished the construction of its second-largest hydropower facility on the Yangtze River, the Baihetan hydropower plant. The facility is equipped with sixteen 1-gigawatt turbines that make it the second-largest hydropower generator in the country and the world.
The facility can generate 62.44 kWh every year, saving around 90.45 million tons of coal each year and cutting annual carbon dioxide emissions by 248.4 million tonnes.
The Baihetan is one of the six giant hydropower stations along the Yangtze River, and it was also one of the country's biggest and most challenging engineering projects.
Overall, China is moving forward with hydropower construction to maintain its position as the world's renewable energy leader. The Maerang hydropower station will significantly impact the country's net zero goals.
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