China News Service, Yichang, January 1st question: The Three Gorges Power Station under multiple tests set a world record for annual power generation
Reporter Guo Xiaoying
As of 24:00 on December 31, 2020, the Three Gorges Power Station will generate a total of 111.8 billion kWh in 2020, setting a world record for the annual power generation capacity of a single hydropower station.
Jiang Dezheng, chief engineer of the Three Gorges Power Plant, said in an interview with a reporter from Chinanews.com that the Three Gorges Power Plant has withstood the triple test of epidemics, floods and cold waves in 2020. The results have not come easily. This record "may be difficult to break in the short term."
The Three Gorges Power Station with a total installed capacity of 22.5 million kilowatts is the largest hydropower station in the world.
In 2020, on the premise of ensuring that the Three Gorges Project fully exerts the comprehensive benefits of flood control, shipping, and water resources utilization, the annual power generation of the Three Gorges Power Station has broken the annual power generation of a single hydropower station created and maintained by Itaipu Hydropower Station in 2016 (1030.98 Billion kWh) world record.
At the beginning of 2020, facing the double test of the epidemic situation and the guarantee of power supply in winter, the Three Gorges Power Station fully implemented the requirements of various epidemic prevention and control measures, focusing on epidemic prevention and control on the one hand, and power production on the other.
“More than 140 employees of ours have given up vacations and stayed on the front line for several months, ensuring that power production and safe repairs have achieved phased success.” Jiang Dezheng said that during the epidemic, the Three Gorges Power Station increased the output of units for Hubei, Zhejiang and Shanghai. Provide basic power guarantee when power receiving areas resume work and production.
During this period, the power delivered by the Three Gorges Power Station reached the highest value in the same period in history.
In the flood season of 2020, 5 numbered floods occurred in the Yangtze River Basin, with the largest flood peak reaching 75,000 cubic meters per second.
The Three Gorges Reservoir blocked the flood peak and the maximum peak cutting rate exceeded 40%.
At the same time, the Three Gorges Power Station is also realizing the utilization of flood resources in flood control and dispatching, strengthening the safety management of equipment and facilities, operation and maintenance, and monitoring and inspection to ensure the "long-term, full-load, and uninterrupted" operation of the equipment.
Flood Discharge of the Three Gorges Dam (data map) Photo by Zhou Xingliang
“In the face of the cold wave, the Three Gorges Power Station has become the backbone of energy security.” Jiang Dezheng said that in order to effectively cope with the cold wave in December, the Three Gorges Power Station urgently adjusted its operation mode, rationally arranged unit maintenance, and added 8 units during the peak period, with the maximum output. 14.11 million kilowatts, the average daily output increased by a maximum of 3.29 million kilowatts compared with before the cold wave, and the cumulative power generation exceeded 3.7 billion kilowatt-hours; the monthly power generation in December increased by about 490 million kilowatt-hours compared with the same period last year, which made up for the electricity gap in time.
Jiang Dezheng said that the Three Gorges Power Station is currently carrying out emergency dispatch for cold wave power protection, rationally arranging the operation of the power station and overhauling units to ensure power supply. (Finish)