HYDROELECTRIC GREEN DEVELOPMENT

By Wang Jiping

Presently oil and coal remain in a dominant position in the global energy system. But the proportion of hydroelectric(including pumped storage), solar,wind and other renewable energy sources is increasing in almost every country’s energy mix.

Attendees of the Beijing Forum on Hydropower & Future Energy Systems held on May 21, 2018 saw evidence that under increasing environmental pressure, the world is paying more and more attention to the development of clean energy. With its advantages in cost and technology,hydroelectric power is favored by many industries.

‘Power Bank’ & ‘Regulator’

Hydroelectric power is used as a priority energy source for development all over the world.Developed countries tapped their water resources earlier and now have a high level of all-around development: 92 percent in Switzerland, 88 percent in France,74 percent in Germany, 73 percent in Japan and 67 percent in the United States.

Zhang Ye, president of China Society for Hydropower Engineering, stressed at the forum that China would continue to fulfill its promises made at the 2015 Paris Climate Conference to“peak CO2 emissions by around 2030 and strive to achieve it as soon as possible, and by 2030,raise the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to about 20 percent.” As clean renewable energy at the highest development level with relatively mature technology, hydropower will remain viable for a fairly long time to come, so it serves as an important means for China to promote the transformation of its energy production and utilization modes to deal with climate change.

Water is discharged from the tunnels at the bottom of the Three Gorges Dam.

For example, a landmark Chinese hydroelectric project,the Three Gorges Hydropower Station has generated a total of over 1 trillion kilowatt hours of electricity as of March 2017, which is equivalent to nearly 319 million tons of standard coal, cutting emissions of carbon dioxide by 858 million tons, sulfur dioxide by 8.99 million tons and nitrogen oxide by 2.57 million tons.

“Conventional cascading hydroelectric stations usually consist of water storage reservoirs with natural energy storage capability,” explained Zhang. “Pumped storage power stations turn themselves on or off at peak and off-peak hours to serve as a ‘power bank’ in the power system. As a ‘regulator’ in the future energy system, with its advantages in cost, technology and energy storage, hydropower will play an important role in the large-scale development and utilization of renewable energies such as solar and wind power.”Many predict hydroelectricity to play an increasingly important role in the future world energy system.

Richard Taylor, CEO of the International Hydropower Association (IHA), agrees with Zhang. “With a global installed capacity of 1,267 gigawatts and an annual total power generation capacity of 418.5 billion kilowatt hours in 2017, hydropower accounts for 16.6 percent of the world’s total electricity generation capacity,” he said. “Of the total investment required to realize the renewable energy goals set by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, 145 countries mentioned an increase in renewable energy by at least 110 kilowatts of hydropower.”

Developed countries tapped their water resources earlier and now have a high level of all-around development:92 percent in Switzerland, 88 percent in France,74 percent in Germany, 73 percent in Japan and 67 percent in the United States.

Prospects for Hydropower in China

Ecological progress is the common pursuit of human society to realize sustainable development goals. China has achieved positive results in the development of clean energies such as hydroelectric power.“After 40 years of development,China’s hydropower industry has a total installed capacity of 340 million kilowatts, which accounts for about 30 percent of the global hydroelectric installed capacity,and generates about 1.2 trillion kilowatt hours of electricity every year, accounting for 70 percent of China’s clean energy production,”explained Zhang. “Hydropower has made a tremendous contribution to the economic and social development of China as well as to energy saving and emission reductions globally.”

After 40 years of development,China’s hydropower industry has a total installed capacity of 340 million kilowatts, which accounts for about 30 percent of the global hydroelectric installed capacity.

China's hydropower industry generates about 1.2 trillion kilowatt hours of electricity every year, accounting for 70 percent of China’s clean energy production

Taylor stressed that in the last 15 years, hydropower has developed rapidly in China,with a total installed capacity soaring to 340 million kilowatts,making China the world leader in installed capacity and power generation. Meanwhile, China’s hydropower industry has acquired important experience in surveying and design,project construction, operation management, investment and financing and other realms.Many Chinese enterprises have actively participated in hydropower projects around the world, highlighting Chinese elements in the design of projects to evidence that the strength of Chinese hydropower enterprises should not be underestimated.

Despite great achievements in the hydropower industry,plentiful room for improvement remains. Zhang noted that although China has the world’s largest hydropower generation capacity, hydropower consumption in the country accounts for only 30 percent of global hydropower consumption.In terms of power generation capacity, the development of hydroelectricity in China is still only 39 percent, lagging far behind developed countries.

In spite of that, Zhang pointed out that the development of the hydropower industry in China has broad prospects for several reasons:

First, hydropower development in China has unique advantage in resources.For example, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is known as “The Third Pole,” which contains the most abundant hydroelectric resources in the world. China’s hydroelectric technology could develop to 660 million kilowatts and generate 3 trillion kilowatt hours of electricity every year,80 percent of which would be distributed in the western regions. In 2017, hydropower accounted for about 19 percent of the country’s annual output of electricity. China’s future demand for electricity is predicted to rise to about 10 trillion kilowatt hours, 2.5 trillion of which will be hydropower, about a quarter of the total.

The history of Chinese civilization is itself a history of water control. In the process of transforming water disasters into water resources, ideas related to sustainable development, such as“harmony between man and nature,”gradually formed.

Second, hydropower development in China enjoys a strong cultural foundation.Chinese civilization has developed while tenaciously fighting floods and droughts since Yu the Great (2200-2100 BC, a legendary ruler of the Xia Dynasty famed for his flood control approach). The history of Chinese civilization is itself a history of water control. In the process of transforming water disasters into water resources, ideas related to sustainable development, such as “harmony between man and nature,” gradually formed. In comprehensive development and utilization of water resources,hydropower projects are playing the same role as the Dujiangyan(an ancient irrigation system in Sichuan Province) or the ancient Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

For example, as the largest hydropower station in the world,the Three Gorges Project has three major tasks: flood control, power generation and navigation. While generating electricity, it has greatly mitigated flooding in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. It has also improved the freight capacity of the upper reaches of the river from 18 million to 120 million tons, which has greatly promoted the development of the western regions.

Third, improved ecological awareness of the Chinese people will also promote hydropower development. “The Chinese economy is transitioning from high-quantity to high-quality development,” added Zhang. “The new mode of development has new demands for energy. New energy is an inevitable choice for the development of high quality energy and ecological progress. It will also be a new kinetic energy for sustainable economic and social development. China’s hydropower industry has participated in global clean and renewable energy investment and development. We have always considered promoting international cooperation and global development and utilization of hydropower and other clean energy sources to be our responsibility. We are ready to work with our partners around the world to achieve energy transformation and the goals of the Paris Agreement.”