Three Gorges sets hydropower record

China's Three Gorges Power Plant generated 98.8 billion kilowatt-hours (kwh) of electricity in 2014, beating the world record for hydropower generation, according to the China Three Gorges Corporation.

Though it has a much smaller installed capacity, Brazil's Itaipu hydroelectric plant has long been the champion of world hydropower generation. It generated 98.6 billion kwh of electricity in 2013.

The Three Gorges Power Plant has an installed capacity of 22.5 million kw. 
 Source:Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
4/1/15
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Related:

• Three Gorges Dam authority makes admission free for domestic tourists 

• Yangtze River sees highest flood peak of the year, Three Gorges Dam reservoir reaching 48,000 cubic meters per second on Sunday

• World ‘biggest hydroelectric dam’ for Congo

• Dam shame - Global Times

  •  China's Three Gorges dam "breaks world hydropower record" ...

 

Three Gorges Dam authority makes admission free for domestic tourists

Starting Thursday, Chinese tourists will be able to visit the Three Gorges Dam, the country's largest hydropower project, free of charge, announced the China Three Gorges Corporation and Yichang government in Hubei Province at a press conference Wednesday.

This scenic spot will be free to all Chinese tourists, including residents from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, while foreign visitors still need to pay 105 yuan ($17) for a ticket.

The maximum daily number of tourists will be restricted to 40,000. The dam currently receives an average of 1.8 million tourists every year, reported the Xinhua News Agency.

Chinese visitors can either make a reservation online or use their ID cards for admission on the spot.

"This decision's aim is to let more Chinese people learn about the project and witness the great achievements China has made since the reform and opening-up," said Sha Xianhua, a deputy general manager of the China Three Gorges Corporation. 

Ticket prices for the dam have been controversial in recent years as they increased from 30 yuan to 105 yuan.

The corporation officially responded in a document delivered to the media in the press conference, saying that "since the construction of the dam was at a critical point in previous years, we were unable to fulfill tourists' demand in consideration of their safety. "

"This move will bring an end to years of disputes and can also stimulate the local tourism industry," Liu Simin, a tourism expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

However, Liu said it would not set a precedent for other popular scenic spots, since ticket revenue from such sites typically goes into local governments' pockets, and local authorities are disinclined to give up revenue sources in an age of squeezed budgets.

The designated scenic area around the dam, a 5A-Class tourism destination, has been a backbone of the local tourism industry since 2007, according to the dam corporation's official website. 
By Cao Siqi Source: Global Times 
25-26/9/14
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• Yangtze River sees highest flood peak of the year, Three Gorges Dam reservoir reaching 48,000 cubic meters per second on Sunday

• World ‘biggest hydroelectric dam’ for Congo

• Dam shame - Global Times

Yangtze River sees highest flood peak of the year, Three Gorges Dam reservoir reaching 48,000 cubic meters per second on Sunday

Video CCTV

The Yangtze River has seen its highest flood peak so far this year, with water flow into the Three Gorges Dam reservoir reaching 48,000 cubic meters per second on Sunday.

The Yangtze River Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters says water flow has increased rapidly since last Wednesday, due to continuous rainfall in the region.

 The Headquarters has ordered the reservoir’s water discharge to be raised to 35,000 cubic meters per second.

 Navigation restrictions have also been enforced in nearby waterways. 


The water flow into the reservoir is expected to drop to 42,000 cubic meters per second on Monday. But weather forecasts say heavy rain will hit the region upstream again in the next three days. Provinces including Sichuan, Guansu, Shaanxi, Hubei and Anhui will see rainstorms. 
22/7/13
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Photo taken on July 21, 2013 shows the Three Gorges Dam, a gigantic hydropower project on the Yangtze River, central China's Hubei Province. The Yangtze River, China's longest, braced for its largest flood peak so far this year due to continuous rainfall upstream. Water flow into the reservoir of the Three Gorges Dam reached 49,000 cubic meters per second on Sunday morning. (Xinhua/Lei Yong)

Photo taken on July 21, 2013 shows the Three Gorges Dam, a gigantic hydropower project on the Yangtze River, central China's Hubei Province. The Yangtze River, China's longest, braced for its largest flood peak so far this year due to continuous rainfall upstream. Water flow into the reservoir of the Three Gorges Dam reached 49,000 cubic meters per second on Sunday morning. (Xinhua/Lei Yong)

Photo taken on July 21, 2013 shows the Three Gorges Dam, a gigantic hydropower project on the Yangtze River, central China's Hubei Province. The Yangtze River, China's longest, braced for its largest flood peak so far this year due to continuous rainfall upstream. Water flow into the reservoir of the Three Gorges Dam reached 49,000 cubic meters per second on Sunday morning. (Xinhua/Lei Yong)

Photo taken on July 21, 2013 shows the Three Gorges Dam, a gigantic hydropower project on the Yangtze River, central China's Hubei Province. The Yangtze River, China's longest, braced for its largest flood peak so far this year due to continuous rainfall upstream. Water flow into the reservoir of the Three Gorges Dam reached 49,000 cubic meters per second on Sunday morning. (Xinhua/Lei Yong)

Στην Αφρική το μεγαλύτερο υδροηλεκτρικό φράγμα του κόσμου;

Ένα υδροηλεκτρικό φράγμα διπλάσιας ισχύος από το μεγαλύτερο στον κόσμο – το Φράγμα των Τριών Φαραγγιών, στην Κίνα – ενδέχεται να ανεγερθεί μέσα στα επόμενα χρόνια στην Αφρική. Εταιρείες από την Ισπανία, την Κίνα και τη Νότια Κορέα «ερίζουν» για την υλοποίηση του φιλόδοξου έργου που, όπως όλα δείχνουν, θα αρχίσει προς το τέλος του 2015, ωστόσο δεν λείπουν και οι ενστάσεις.

Το φράγμα Inga 3, που στην πρώτη του φάση θα έχει ισχύ 4,800MW με προοπτική δεκαπλασιασμού, πρόκειται να κατασκευαστεί στον ποταμό Κονγκό, το βαθύτερο στον κόσμο, 230 χλμ. νοτιοδυτικά της Κινσάσα, ενώ εκτιμάται ότι θα στοιχίσει μεταξύ 9 δισ. και 14 δισ. δολαρίων. Σύμφωνα με αξιωματούχους, η ανέγερσή του θα έχει ολοκληρωθεί έως το 2021.

Το έργο βρίσκεται στα χαρτιά εδώ και περισσότερα από 30 χρόνια, όμως η πολιτική αστάθεια σε συνδυασμό με τις αντιδράσεις των τοπικών κοινοτήτων και το τεράστιο κόστος του εμπόδιζαν την ανέγερση του φράγματος που θα μπορούσε να ανακουφίσει μια μεγάλη περιοχή από τις ελλείψεις ηλεκτρισμού, οι οποίες λειτουργούν ως τροχοπέδη για την οικονομική ανάπτυξη της ηπείρου.

Στα τέλη Μαΐου, η Παγκόσμια Τράπεζα άφησε ανοιχτό το ενδεχόμενο διοχέτευσης 50 εκ. δολαρίων «για την προετοιμασία και την ανάπτυξη του έργου», ενώ παρόμοια δέσμευση ανέλαβε και η Αφρικανική Αναπτυξιακή Τράπεζα. Επιπλέον, η Νότια Αφρική συμφώνησε να αγοράσει περίπου το μισό ηλεκτρικό ρεύμα που θα παράγει ο σταθμός, παρά το γεγονός ότι η τεράστια απόσταση συνεπάγεται σημαντικές απώλειες.

Σε μια προσπάθεια να περιοριστούν οι περιβαλλοντικές επιπτώσεις του έργου, το Inga 3 προβλέπει την εκτροπή τμήματος του ποταμού μέσω ενός καναλιού, κατά μήκος του οποίου θα χτιστεί ένα φράγμα 1,6 χλμ. Η Παγκόσμια Τράπεζα εκτιμά ότι, σε πλήρη λειτουργία, το φράγμα θα μπορούσε να καλύπτει τις ενεργειακές ανάγκες έως και 500 εκ. αφρικανικών νοικοκυριών.

Οι πολέμιοί του ωστόσο επισημαίνουν ότι αποτελεί λάθος όχημα ανάπτυξης σε μια ήπειρο που δεν διαθέτει τις κατάλληλες υποδομές διανομής μεγάλων ποσοτήτων ενέργειας που παράγονται από τη μία πηγή. Επιπλέον, υποστηρίζουν ότι αυτοί που το χρειάζονται περισσότερο, δηλαδή οι ίδιοι οι κάτοικοι του Κονγκό, δεν θα επωφεληθούν από αυτό, καθώς η χώρα δεν διαθέτει εθνικό δίκτυο ηλεκτροδότησης ούτε σκοπεύει να αναπτύξει.
www.naftemporiki.gr
12/6/13
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• World ‘biggest hydroelectric dam’ for Congo

In what is seen as a good move for renewable energy, talks in the French capital, Paris, between the Democratic Republic of Congo and international officials have agreed work on the world’s biggest hydroelectric dam will start in October 2015 in the DR Congo.
The meeting on the proposed Inga dam on the Congo River also involved multilateral lending institutions.
A statement after the talks concluded said the “foundation stone will be laid in October 2015.”
“With a production of 40,000 megawatts (MW), the Grand Inga project will eventually provide electricity to half the African continent,” it said.
This is less than half of the DR Congo’s total hydropower resources, which the World Bank estimates at 100,000MW.
World Bank estimates suggest that if completed and running at full capacity, the complex could provide energy to up to 500 million African households.
The first phase of the project, Inga Three Basse Chute, will have a capacity of 4800MW.
The Paris meeting followed a deal signed on May 7 between South Africa and DR Congo for co-operation in the energy sector and for South Africa to buy some of the electricity produced.
Plants would need to be rehabilitated and massive new stations built on the powerful Inga falls, which lie in a narrow strip of DR Congo territory through which the Congo River runs down to the Atlantic coast.
Three consortiums are bidding to clinch the contract for the project: China’s Sinohydro and Three Gorges Corporation; Spain’s Actividades de Construccion y Servicios (ACS), Eurofinsa and AEE; and South Korean firms Daewoo and Posco with SNC Lavalin of Canada.
The Three Gorges Dam in China is currently the world’s largest hydropower complex, with a capacity of 22,500MW.

 http://econews.com.au/news-to-sustain-our-world/world-biggest-hydroelectric-dam-for-congo/

30/5/13