New Projects - Renewables

10.2-GW Wudongde hydropower in China fully operational

10.2-GW Wudongde hydropower in China fully operational
(Photo by Zhangmoon618, courtesy Wikimedia)

By Elizabeth Ingram, Hydro Review Content Director

The 10.2-GW Wudongde hydropower project on the Jinsha River in China has been fully completed, with all 12 turbine-generator units now in operation, multiple news agencies are reporting.

Owner China Three Gorges Corp. is reported to have completed 72 hours of test operations and provided electricity to the southern China power grid. It is anticipated to provide annual power generation of 39 million MWh.

The massive project, near the border of Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, cost CNY120 billion (US$18.6 billion) to complete. It features a 270-m-high dam

Wudongde began generating electricity in July 2020. It is the third hydropower station with a capacity above 10,000 MW in China and the seventh in the world.

GE was awarded a turbine supply contract for the project in 2015, and Voith received a contract for the remaining turbines in 2016.