The 16GW Baihetan hydropower project in China is fully operational, with the No 9 generating unit – the last of the facility’s 16 x 1GW generating units – having been placed into operation on 21 December 2022.
The operation is seen as a milestone for China’s clean energy drive. The project can generate 62.4 billion kWh of electricity a year, enough to meet the annual electricity needs of approximately 75 million people while saving approximately 19.68 million tonnes of standard coal and reducing CO2 emissions by approximately 51.6 million tonnes.
The Baihetan hydropower project, located downstream from the Jinsha River on the border of Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in southwestern parts of China, transmits electricity from the resource-rich west to energy-consuming regions in east China, contributing to the utilization of clean energy targets of the country.
