I. Basic conditions and development situation of waterpower resources in China II. The role of reservoirs & dams in economic and social development in China III. Future prospects and challenges of hydropower development in China

1. Roles of Dams & Hydro as
Renewable Energy in China
ZHOU JIANPING
HYDROCHINA CORPORATION
Wednesday, August 14

2. Outline
I. Basic conditions and development
situation of waterpower resources in China
II. The role of reservoirs & dams in economic
and social development in China
III. Future prospects and challenges of
hydropower development in China

3. I. Basic conditions and development
situation of waterpower resources in China

4.  Abundant Waterpower Resources in China
我国水力 源 量居世界首位资 总
。
Annual waterpower output of
technically exploitable reserves
Annual waterpower output of
theoretical reserves
40.6%
Annual waterpower output of
economically exploitable reserves
Annual waterpower output of
theoretical reserves
28.8%

5. The technically exploitable
hydropower resources in China
accounts for 17% of the world’s.
The sum of technically exploitable
hydropower resources in top ten
countries is approximately 900
million kWh, accounting for 62% of
the whole in the world.
Comparison with other countries

6.  1: China’s hydropower
resources are mainly
distributed in western region.
 Characteristics of resource distribution

7. - It is mainly in Sichuan, Yunnan and Tibet in western region.
The hydropower resources of the three parts above account for
as high as 75.2% of the total in western region.
 Characteristics of resource distribution

8.  2: Highly concentrated , it is mainly distributed on ten rivers.
 Characteristics of resource distribution

9. The temporal distribution of water
resources in China is uneven.
The water yield in flood season
(from June to October) accounts
for 70%-80% of that all year
round, while the water yield in dry
season (from November to May
of the next year) only accounts
for 20-30%.
 3: Uneven spatial and temporal distribution,
mainly concentrated in flood season.
 Characteristics of resource distribution

10. After the year 2000, China’s hydropower embraced the stage of
rapid development.
It only took 6 years to achieve installed capacity of 100 GW of
hydropower, and the total installed capacity exceeded 200 GW.
 Development history of hydropower in China
78 GW
2000
480 kW
1910
100 GW
2004
Shilongba
Hydropower
station, the first
one in China
The installed
capacity of
hydropower in
China moved
up to second
in the world
Gongboxia hydropower
Station on the Yellow
River was put into
operation, the installed
capacity of hydropower
in China leaped to the
first in the world.
Xiaowan hydropower
Station on
Lancangjiang was
put into operation,
the total installed
capacity of
hydropower in China
exceeded 200 GW.
200 GW
2010

11. By 2012, the installed capacity of hydropower in China reached 249
GW, and annual power generation reached 864.1 billion kWh.
The increased installed capacities in the past three decades are
16GW , 43GW, and 136.7GW, respectively.
 Current situation of hydropower development in
China

12.  The development level of hydropower in Eastern China &
Central China is high
 The development level of hydropower in Western China is
relatively low
The hydroelectric development in China
focuses on western region.
Development level of hydropower in
different regions of China
Eastern region Central region Western region

13.  Comparison between the level of hydropower
development in China and those in developed countries
Compared with developed countries, the level of hydropower
development in China is still very low.
It is growing rapidly. Many large projects have been put into
operation.

14.  The Three Gorges Project, with the largest installed
capacity in the world
Installed Capacity:
22500 MW
Reservoir Capacity:
39.3 billion m3
Height of Dam :
181m
 The existing and ongoing landmark large reservoirs and
dams in China

15. The Xiaowan Dam, the highest arch dam constructed in the
world
Installed capacity:
4200 MW
Reservoir capacity:
15 billion m3
Height of dam:
294.5 m
 The existing and ongoing landmark large reservoirs and
dams in China

16.  The Shuibuya Dam, the highest CFRD (Concrete Faced
Rockfill Dam) constructed in the world
Installed capacity:
1840 MW
Reservoir capacity:
4.58 billion m3
Height of dam:
233 m
 The existing and ongoing landmark large reservoirs and
dams in China

17.  The Nuozhadu Dam, the highest ECRD (Earth Cored
Rockfill Dam) constructed in China
Installed capacity:
5850 MW
Reservoir capacity:
23.7 billion m3
Height of dam:
261.5 m
 The existing and ongoing landmark large reservoirs and
dams in China

18.  The Longtan Dam, a RCC Gravity Dam constructed with
the largest volume of concrete in the world.
Installed capacity:
6300 MW
Reservoir capacity:
27.3 billion m3
Height of dam:
216.5 m
 The existing and ongoing landmark large reservoirs and
dams in China

19. II. The role of reservoirs & dams in economic and
social development in China

20. Reservoirs
& Dams
Reservoirs and dams play
an important role in
promoting economic and
social development
in China.
Flood control
Navigation
Irrigation
Tourism
GHG emissions
mitigation
Promotion of local
economic & social
development
Power
generation
Employment of labor force,
Fiscal revenues,
Construction of
infrastructures,
…
 Multifunction and comprehensive utilization

21.  Lower price and stable supply from hydropower for
supporting the growth of China’s economy
The electricity price of hydropower is
far lower than that of thermal power
and wind power.
The hydropower output keeps 17%
of the electricity amount in one year.
The composition of electric
power supply in China in 2012

22. Flood control
In flood season of 2012, the peak inflow
was cut down from 71200 m3
/s to 43000m3
/s
to avoid the flood disaster downstream of
Three Gorgtes Project.
More than 80% reservoirs and dams in
China have the irrigation function. The
irrigation area with reservoirs
approximately accounting for one third of
the total irrigation area in China.
Irrigation
Water supply,
Improvement of navigation channels
Aquatic farming in reservoir areas.
Tourism
Others
 Bring the comprehensive utilization benefits including
flood control, irrigation, water supply, etc.

23. Annual runoff hydrograph
of a typical river
Since the seasonal
allocation of water
resources in China is
uneven, it is required
to build reservoirs
with certain regulation
ability to regulate river
runoff, store the water
in flood season and
supply water in dry
season in order to
improve the utilization
of water resources.
 Improved management capacity of water
resources with reservoirs in China

24. Since 1950, the total standard coal saved in power generation
through hydropower in China is equivalent to the total energy
consumption in 2010.
The hydropower
generation reached
864.1 billion kWh in 2012
260 million tons
of standard coal
was saved.
780 million tons of
CO2 emission was
reduced.
The total hydropower
generation is 9.457
trillion kWh.
2.85 billion tons
of standard coal
was saved.
85.5 billion tons
of CO2 emission
was reduced.
 The conspicuous effect of energy conservation
and emission reduction

25.  Beneficial to people in mountainous areas in West China
and help them to get rid of poverty and become better off
Comparison of villagers’ housing before and after
 Improve local infrastructures such as transportation, communication, etc.,
create opportunities for labor employment, increase income of the
masses, and promote the process of urbanization.
 Change local industrial structure, promote the development of relevant
industries such as tourism, aquatic farming, etc., speed up local economic
and social development, and help resettled residents to get rid of poverty
and become better off.

26. III. Future prospects and challenges of
hydropower development in China

27.  Due to a large population in China, the resources availability
per capita is lower than that of the world average

28.  The economic development in China can’t be realized
without the support of energy sources
For the past 30 years from 1980 to 2010, China’s GDP has remained the
annual average growth rate of 10% with energy annual average growth
rate of 5.8%, and the energy utilization efficiency has been
continuously improved.

29.  Hydropower makes up the secondary big part of
the whole energy resources
The hydropower resource in the composition of
remaning energy sources in China is 45.7%, only
second to coal.
Composition of remaining
energy sources in China
Raw coal: 50.1%
Hydropower
resource: 45.7%
Petroleum:
1.8%
Natural gas:
2.5%

30.  The per capita energy consumption in China is basically
equivalent to the world average level
The per capita energy
consumption in China is
2.67 t, one fifth of that in
the U.S., one half of that
in Germany, one half of
that in Japan.
By 2050, the per capita
energy consumption in
China will be 4.4 t, basically
equivalent to the present
energy consumption level of
moderately developed
countries.

31. The per capita power
consumption in China is
3600 kWh, only one fourth
of that in the U.S., one half
of that in Germany, 40% of
that in Japan.
By 2050, the per capita power
consumption in China will
reach 7300 kWh, basically
equivalent to that at present in
moderately developed
countries of Europe.
 The level of per capita power consumption in China is
relatively low

32.  The development of renewable energy resources is
required in tackling climate change

33.  China committed to the development of clean and low-
carbon economy in the energy structure adjustment
The proportion of renewable energy sources in energy
consumption will be increased to 30% by 2050 from 11.4% in 2015.

34.  Hydropower plays an important role in the adjustment
of energy structure in China
 Hydropower has always ranked first in non-fossil energy.
 The proportion of hydropower in non-fossil energy consumption
will be reduced gradually from 63% in 2015 to 38% in 2050.

35. Compared to renewable energy sources such as wind power,
photovoltaic power generation, biomass power generation,
hydropower is still the first choice in the power generation schemes
of renewable energy sources in a future period.
Technical
advantage
Advantage of
adjustability
For hydropower, there is basically no restrictive engineering
technical obstacle in engineering technology, and there is
much experience.
Cost
advantage
Compared to other power generation projects of renewable
energy sources, the cost of hydropower is relatively low,
while the cost of other projects is relatively high.
For hydropower, water yield can be adjusted through the
construction of reservoirs, and the quality of power
generation can be improved.
Scale
advantage
At present, large-scale application of other renewable energy
sources other than hydropower still faces many problems and
restrictions.
 Priority shall be given to the development of
hydropower among the renewable energy resources

36. No sufficient effective coordination and
communication among the different
departments, the comprehensive utilization
function is not given full play, and
economic benefits are hampered.
More and more local
demands, imperfect benefit
distribution and sharing
mechanism, management
system and coordination
mechanism, etc. make it
difficult to carry out
resettlement work for
hydropower projects, and
make it increasingly difficult
to carry out resettlement of
affected residents.
The insufficient
systematic and scientific
criteria for assessment
and the adverse effect of
public opinion make it
still difficult to carry out
coordination between
hydropower
development and
environmental
protection.
 Major problems encountered in development

37.  Development planning and goal

38.  The hydropower stations will be constructed on big rivers in the
western part of China.
 The power stations on these rivers generally feature large scale with
large storage capacity and high dams.
 Among the hydropower projects to be built, there are over 55 projects
with the dam height of more than 100m and over 20 projects with the dam
height of more than 200m.
 Large stations and high dams

39. High mountains and deep valley;
Earthquake;
Soft rock mass and big Faults;
1. More complicated regional geology
澜沧江上游河段 怒江上游河段
 Key issues focused
Collapsed accumulation body
Landslide mass
Debris flow, etc.

40. High dams and discharge energy dissipation;
Surrounding rock stability in large caverns;
High and steep cut slopes;
Large capacity turbine generator units,
Long-distance power transmission with large
capacity , etc.
溪洛渡地下厂房龙滩地下厂房
2. More difficult project engineering technologies
High slope at dam abutment, Jinping—I Project
 Key issues focused

41. 3. More difficult to coordinate of protection and development
Protection areas;
Ecological system of rivers;
Rare animals and plants;
Living environment of fish;
Change of water flow and sediment of the river; etc.
向家坝鱼类增殖站 长洲鱼道
 Key issues focused

42. 4. More difficult to resettlement of rural residents affected
Large population of ethnic minorities,
Relatively backward productivity and economic development,
Influenced by religious beliefs, holy mountains and holy water,
Lack of cultivated land,
A fragile ecological environment.
 Key issues focused

43. THANKS
FOR YOUR ATTENTION!