With 1 gigawatt (GW) of solar panels and 3 GW of hydroelectric power generation on the Yalong River Plateau in Sichuan Province, the plant can produce 2 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually, equivalent to the energy consumption of more than 700,000 households in a year.
The Kela photovoltaic power plant is a key renewable energy project in Sichuan Province. Photo: Xinhua
The plant is part of a massive renewable energy facility planned by the Chinese government to generate clean energy for 100 million homes – roughly the population of the United States – along a 1,500-km stretch of the river. The first phase of the project was connected to the grid on Sunday.
The Kela Solar Hydropower Plant is located on a mountain in Ganzi Province, Sichuan and is 4,600 meters above sea level, making it the highest elevation project of its kind in the world.
The solar-hydro hybrid design will make power generation more stable, as it can complement each other. Specifically, the electricity generated by the solar power plant is first transported via power lines to the Lianghekou Hydropower Station, 50 km away.
The energy generated by the solar and hydroelectric plants is then combined and fed into the grid. This design helps to balance the fluctuations in solar energy, generating more electricity during the day and less at night.
It also allows the system to regulate power generation over longer periods of time, allowing for more solar generation during the dry season and greater hydropower output during the wet season.
The technology solves the problem of connecting solar power to the grid safely and avoiding waste, solving the inherent dependence of solar power on the weather. “This is a typical example of large-scale clean energy development in the world,” China’s Xinhua news agency reported.
Mai Anh (according to Xinhua News Agency, SCMP)
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