The first phase of the world‘s largest and highest-altitude hydro-solar power plant has been operational in southwest China since Sunday last week, the China State Investment and Development Corporation reported, quoted by state media.
This hybrid station is made up of the Kela photovoltaic plant, which was built in the Yalong River basin, in the Chinese province of Sichuan, at 4,600 meters above sea level and 1,000 meters above Lhasa, the highest city in the world. world. It is currently connected to the Lianghekou hydroelectric power station, located 50 kilometers away from it, which was put into operation last March with a capacity of three million kilowatts (kW).
The operators explained that the Kela plant has a capacity of one million kilowatts (kW) thanks to its solar panels, which will allow it to produce 2,000 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity per year, covering the energy needs of 700,000 households in the region. Likewise, it is estimated that with this electrical power around 15,000 electric vehicles with a range of 550 kilometers could be charged in just one hour.
The director of the PowerChina Chengdu construction project, Yang Zhiwei, explained that the power generation capacity of the Kela plant is the equivalent of “600,000 tons of standard coal”, so that, in this way, “emissions will be reduced.” of carbon dioxide by more than 1.6 million tons.
Avoiding energy waste
According to the South China Morning Post, the design of the hybrid station will help balance fluctuations in solar power. This is because the photovoltaic plant produces more electricity during the day and less at night and on cloudy days.
Also this configuration will allow the system to adapt power production for a longer period, allowing solar power to be generated during dry seasons and hydropower in rainy seasons. The implementation of this technology will solve the safe connection of solar energy with the electrical network, thus avoiding electrical waste.
The Sichuan Province Power Project commissions the world‘s first hybrid power station capable of producing millions of kilowatts. Both facilities will form part of the renewable energy production base in China, with a capacity of 100 million kW, generating approximately 300 million kWh per year, enough to serve 100 million homes. with RT