 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
China Begins Building First Hydropower Plant On Jinsha River
Beijing (AFP) Jan 05, 2006 China this week began construction of the first of four major hydropower plants on an strategically-important river, state media said Wednesday, in a controversial project that has raised environmental concerns. The Xiluodu hydropower station on the Jinsha river, a tributary of the Yangtze between the southwestern provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan, will have an installed capacity of 12.6 million kilowatts, the China Daily reported. The six-billion-dollar Xiluodu plant is slated for completion in 2015. The Jinsha river project, including the construction of three other hydropower stations -- Xiangjiaba, Wudongde and Baihetan -- will have a combined installed capacity of 38.5 million kilowatts. The energy output will be twice as large as the famous Three Gorges project on the Yangtze, which will be the world's biggest dam. The 24-billion-dollar Jinsha project is part of the country's ambitious west-east electricity transmission plan, which aims to transfer power from the hydropower-rich southwest to the eastern provinces' economic powerhouses. The Jinsha river will be dammed in 2007 for the power project, the China Daily said. Environmentalists have argued that damming the Jinsha would do much damage to the local environment, threaten the area's distinct plants and animals and flood fertile land. The new dams could also wipe out fish species whose migration routes to traditional breeding grounds will be blocked. Nearly a year ago, the project's builder tried to defy an order from the State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) to halt construction of the dam. The power project was among 30 large-scale projects ordered stopped by the government agency due to a lack of mandatory environmental impact assessments. When contacted by AFP on Wednesday, SEPA declined to comment on whether the project had now passed environmental assessments. Meanwhile, the China Daily reported that China Energy Conservation Investment Corporation, a flagship state company, will invest at least 20 billion yuan (2.5 billion dollars) over the next five years to build alternative energy projects across the country. These projects will generate electricity using alternative energy sources such as wind, biomass -- which stems from plant and animal matter -- and waste treatment, the newspaper said. Last month, China said it would spend about 180 billion dollars over the next 15 years to increase its use of renewable energy from the current seven percent of total output to 15 percent. China has said it is facing an electricity crisis with its booming economy creating massive demand for energy that has already resulted in major shortages.
Source: Agence France-Presse Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com
Europe Debates Nuclear Energy
Washington (UPI) Jan 11, 2006European Union countries are starting to rethink their opposition to nuclear energy amid a dispute between Russia and Ukraine over natural gas supplies, but energy analysts say a switch still lacks a green light. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
