China's megawatt hydropower station saves 9,000 tons of coal in half century

(ECNS) -- Liujiaxia Hydropower Station in China’s Gansu Province has generated 258.7 billion kWh of electricity accumulatively as of Friday, which marked the 53th anniversary of its operation, equivalent to saving 90.405 million tons of coal and reducing 236.86 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Located on the main stream of Yellow River in Yongjing County, Gansu Province, Liujiaxia Hydropower Station is the first megawatt hydropower facility. It has five hydroelectric units with an installed capacity of 1.225 million kW.

It is part of Liujiaxia Hydraulic Complex, a large-scale multipurpose water project on the main stream of Yellow River.

Operation of the hydropower station has eliminated the flooding of Yellow River and created history in developing Yellow River conservancy projects, said Li Pingdong, a hydropower station manager.

It has connected the grids of Shaanxi, Qinghai and Gansu, and contributed to northwest China’s agriculture, said Li.

Every year, Liujiaxia reservoir supplies 800 million to 1.2 billion cubic meters of water for spring irrigation in Gansu, Ningxia and Inner Mongolia, according to Li.

Liujiaxia Reservoir meets water demands of 3.8 million people in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu, rendering about 550 million to 830 million cubic meters of water annually.