Yebatan hydropower station begins reservoir filling, advancing toward 2026 operation

The Yebatan Hydropower Station in southwest China began filling its reservoir on Monday, entering the final stage before its first power-generating units go online.

As a major project in the nation's "14th Five-Year Plan" (2021-2025), this marks the concrete double-curvature arch dam hydropower station under construction at the highest altitude in China officially entering the final stage towards the operation of its first batch of generating units.

The Yebatan Hydropower Station, a key component of the upper Jinsha River clean-energy base, is under construction on the mainstream of the Jinsha River at the junction of Baiyu County, Sichuan Province, and Konjo County, Xizang Autonomous Region in southwest China.

The station has a total installed capacity of 2,240 MW, with a maximum dam height of 217 meters. During construction, Chinese engineers extracted a record-breaking 38.1-meter-long concrete core sample in May.

"Reservoir filling will proceed in two stages. The first stage, starting today, will raise the water level to the 2,855-meter minimum operating level, creating conditions for the first generating units to begin operation by the end of this year. The second stage is the initial operation period, expected to last until October next year, when the water level will be raised to the 2,889-meter normal pool level. This will maximize the coordinated dispatch and operation capability of the cascade power stations on the upper Jinsha River," said Du Xiaofan, head of the engineering management department, Yebatan branch, Huadian Jinsha River Upstream Hydropower Development Co.

As a key part of China's west-to-east power transmission program, once it is fully operational, the Yebatan Station will generate over 10.2 billion kWh of electricity annually, equivalent to saving nearly 4 million tons of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 7.37 million tons each year.

The clean electricity generated will be transmitted to central China via the world's highest-altitude large-capacity hydropower-photovoltaic hybrid DC transmission line-- Jinshang-Hubei ±800 kV UHV DC transmission project -- which is significant for optimizing China's energy structure and promoting local economic and social development.

Construction of the hydropower station's main structure began in September 2018 and the full operation is scheduled in 2026.

Yebatan hydropower station begins reservoir filling, advancing toward 2026 operation

China's commodity price index stood at 129.9 points in March, up 4 percent month on month and 14.5 percent year on year, according to data released by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) on Sunday.

Among the 50 major commodities under key monitoring by the CFLP, 38 recorded a month-on-month price increase in March.

Specifically, diesel, methanol and ethylene glycol led the gains, rising 30.5 percent, 30.4 percent and 29.3 percent, respectively, from the previous month.

Affected by imported factors such as tensions in the Middle East and a sharp rise in international crude oil prices, China's energy and chemical price indices rose significantly, up 16.5 percent and 21.8 percent month on month, respectively.

Driven by rising international fertilizer prices and growing demand for biofuels, China's agricultural product price index increased by 2.8 percent month on month.

Analysts noted that the sharp rise in the commodity price index in March comes from factors such as the recovery of the domestic commodity market, the good outcomes of policies, and the ongoing tensions in the Middle East.

Given the increasingly volatile international commodity prices and the rising uncertainties in importing energy, chemicals and other commodities, it is necessary to diversify the sources of raw materials, expand the use of alternative resources, and enhance the ability to resist and respond to risky factors that may cause fluctuation in markets, said the analysts.

China's commodity price index up 4 pct in March