Three Gorges Project reports power output rise -- china.org.cn

China Three Gorges Project Corporation (CTGPC) confirmed Tuesday that, despite a decrease in water inflow, it generated nearly five billion kilowatt/hour of electricity more in January-June period of this year than in the first half of last year.

It produced 32.23 billion kw/hour of power in the first half of this year, though the water inflow volume monitored at the massive Three Gorges reservoir was 126 billion cubic meters, a decline of 3.6 percent from an average of the past years, and the power generation was 4.72 billion kw/hour more than power output for January-June period last year, said the company in a statement.

Additionally, 32.34 million tons of cargo were transported via the Three Gorges Project in the first half of the year, a rise of 4.6 percent from the volume handled in the same period last year.

The corporation has kept the water level in the Three Gorges Reservoir at a mark of 145 meters since early June as the Yangtze River has been in a flood season.

Launched in 1993, the Three Gorges Project is a multifunctional hydroelectric facility built near Yichang in central China's Hubei Province to tame the unruly Yangtze River and fuel China's economic development with clean and cheap energy. Its other functions include flood control and shipping.

The project has completed most of its main projects, including a 185-meter-high dam, a five-tier ship lock and 32 generators, 26 of which are on the river banks and were put into operation by October last year -- with installed capacity totaling 18.2 million kw.

Unfinished works of the Three Gorges Project include an underground power station where six generators will be installed and a ship lift. Both the underground power station and the ship lift are being built on the southern side of the Yangtze.

As of April 7, the world's largest hydroelectric project had generated 300 billion kw/h of electricity since its first generator was put into operation in July 2003. The amount is equivalent to 8.8 percent of the national consumption last year.

(Xinhua News Agency July 7, 2009)