The No.8 unit of Baihetan HPP started commercial operation

The No.8 unit of Baihetan hydropower station,the world's largest hydropower station under construction,, passed the 72-hour trial operation and officially started commercial operation on September 22.

The commissioning marks that 12 of the 16 one-gigawatt hydraulic generators, the world's largest in terms of capacity for a single unit, have been put into operation, with a cumulative power generation of over 41 billion kWh.

Baihetan hydropower station straddles the provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan in Southwest China and is located on the Jinsha River in the upper section of the Yangtze River. It is a mega project in China's west-east power transmission program, which aims to transmit electricity from the resource-rich western part of China to energy-hungry regions in eastern China.

After reaching full operation, Baihetan hydropower station will be the world's second-largest of its kind after China's Three Gorges Dam. The station can generate 62.4 billion kWh of clean electricity every year, cutting the usage of 19.68 million tons of standard coals and reducing emissions equivalent to 51.6 million tons of carbon dioxide.