Baihetan Hydropower Station sign of China’s innovation capacities

As the world’s largest under-construction power plant, the world’s largest installed capacity of a single generating unit and the world’s second largest in terms of overall installed capacity, the launch of operations at the first two generating units of Baihetan Hydropower Station, across the Jinsha River in Southwest China on Monday, marks China’s new step toward hydropower technology and independent innovation capability.

In a congratulatory letter, President Xi Jinping commended the station’s constructors for striving toward perfection, courageously scaling new heights, and displaying selfless dedication and called for greater contributions to the nation’s efforts to peak carbon emissions and attain carbon neutrality.

Science and technology are the foundations of a country’s prosperity, and innovation is the soul of national progress. China cannot depend on other countries in core and key technologies and must work hard to make self-reliant innovations. The Baihetan Hydropower Station is not only the first large-scale hydropower station in China to use domestically produced units, but also the first hydropower station in the world with a single unit capacity exceeding 1 million kilowatts. A total of 16 million-kilowatts of generating units installed in the station with a series of technological breakthroughs achieved in key design and manufacturing symbolize China’s successful exploration of higher-level hydropower development.

The Baihetan Hydropower Station is another landmark project after the Three Gorges Project opened a magnificent chapter in China’s hydropower industry. As a super project put into operation in the first year of the 14th Five-Year Plan (202125), the station serves as another “calling card” of China’s hydropower that is of epoch-making significance. With the first batch of generating units put into operation, the Baihetan Hydropower Station is expected to generate 60 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, save about 19.68 million tons of standard coal and reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 51.6 million tons and sulfur dioxide by 170,000 tons annually. The Baihetan Hydropower Station will join the Three Gorges and Gezhou Dam projects and other major hydropower stations in China to form the world’s largest clean energy corridor.

In 2020, China made fruitful achievements in the field of engineering and construction, with many record-breaking projects put into operation. From the smart high-speed rail to the world-class cross-sea bridge and the world’s longest highway undersea tunnel, while breaking world records, each of them is testimony to China’s infrastructure strength.