The construction of the Yebatan Hydropower Station, an important project for optimizing China's energy structure, is in full swing as the first generator stator was successfully installed on Wednesday.
The Yebatan Hydropower Station is located at the junction of Baiyu County in southwest China's Sichuan Province and Konjo County in neighboring Xizang Autonomous Region. With a total installed capacity of 2,240 MW, it will be the largest hydropower station on the upper reaches of the Jinsha River upon completion of its construction.
The 15.6-meter diameter stator, a core component of the hydropower generator, was lowered into the designated area on Wednesday, paving the way for the assembly of the first generating unit.
After completing following installation work such as bolt tightening, testing, and calibration, installation of the rotor and other turbine components will be commenced.
The project consists of a dam structure, a flood discharge structure and a water diversion and power generation system. It is expected to start operation of its first batch of generating units by the end of 2025.
"The Yebatan Hydropower Station, with the approval of its construction in 2016, presents unique challenges due to its high altitude, cold climate, ultra-high arch damming, high ground stress and large burial depth, and features large-span underground workshops. We've applied many advanced technologies and developed a smart management platform to ensure its construction quality. We aim to commission the first generating units by the end of next year," Liu Qiang, executive director of the Yebatan branch of China Huadian Corporation said on Tuesday.
The dam has been built to a height of 171 meters so far and will ultimately stand at 217 meters. It is China's highest-altitude double-curved arch dam hydropower station under construction.
Once operational, the Yebatan Hydropower Station is expected to generate an average of 10.2 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, saving 3.99 million tons of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 7.37 million tons.
The clean energy generated will be transmitted to central China via the world's first large-capacity hydropower-photovoltaic hybrid DC transmission line -- the Jinshang-Hubei ±800 kV UHV DC transmission project.
China's mega hydropower station completes installation of first generator stator
