Page 13 - AsiaElec Week 28 2021

AsiaElec NEWS IN BRIEF AsiaElec

POLICY projects to take part. Chinese homes.
State power players were also quick The WDD hydropower station is located in
China tells local to take interest. State Power Investment the lower reaches of Jinsha River with a total
installed capacity of 10 200 MW. The power
Corporation – one of China’s five major
governments to power on electricity generation companies – informed plant is an essential part of the West-East
Power Transmission project, in which China
its subsidiaries two days after the pilot
with small solar projects programme was made public that it already is developing power resources in the western
region and sending electricity to provinces
had plans to work with local governments
as state giants eye pilot in Henan, Liaoning, Hunan and Hubei in the East which are in short supply of
provinces.
electricity, including Guangdong, Jiangsu,
scheme Shanghai and Beijing.
It is estimated that the clean energy
China’s National Energy Administration has produced by the WDD hydropower plant will
ordered local governments to press ahead HYDRO save approximately 12.2mn tpy of standard
with solar projects already in the works, as it coal. Likewise, the power plant is expected to
seeks to roll out a pilot programme for rooftop GE Renewable Energy reduce emissions of 30.5mn t of CO2 as well
photovoltaic power, the south China Morning as 104 000 t of SO2.
Post reported. connects final hydro units WDD is already the third joint large-scale
The NEA’s announcement reverses national energy infrastructure project of the
instructions from various lower-level to the grid in China China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG) and
authorities ordering that such projects – GE Renewable Energy on a national level.
many of them small scale – to be put on hold In line with the planned schedule, GE The Three Gorges Project was connected
pending consolidation for the pilot scheme. Renewable Energy’s last unit of the Wudongde to the grid as early as 2008, followed by the
“Proposed solar projects or projects (WDD) hydropower station has now been Xiangjiaba hydropower plant, which was
that are already under construction should successfully connected to the grid for power completed in 2014.
continue and should not be halted,” the NEA generation and has completed 72 hours of trial To be able to realise the project, GE
said in a notice. operation. Renewable Energy has also upgraded local
The NEA unveiled the pilot programme Under the contract signed in 2015, the hydropower capacities in China. Among other
late last month, asking provincial authorities company was responsible for the design, things, the company has managed the project
to nominate counties for the scheme by engineering, manufacturing, erection from its site in Tianjin, China, where most of
Thursday this week. supervision and the commissioning of the six the components were also manufactured. The
The programme aims to install solar 850 MW Francis turbine generator sets and parts were then assembled at a specially built
power equipment on rooftops throughout related equipment for the hydropower project. and dedicated on-site facility in Wudongde.
communities, from government and public At 850 MW, these are some of the world’s This remote workshop helped improve
buildings to homes and commercial facilities. largest units ever used in a hydropower plant. logistical efficiency while maintaining the
The pilot quickly picked up steam, with The first unit was connected to the grid in July required quality standards.
some local governments announcing an 2020. A single such unit is said to be capable GE RENEWABLE ENERGY
immediate suspension of their existing solar of powering the equivalent of 1.8mn typical

Week 28 14•July•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P13