The history of hydropower in China

The earliest hydropower station in the world appeared in France in 1878, where the world’s first hydropower station was built.
The inventor Edison also contributed to the development of hydropower stations. In 1882, Edison built the Abel Hydropower Station in Wisconsin, USA.
At the beginning, the capacity of hydropower stations established was very small. In 1889, the world’s largest hydropower station was in Japan, but its installed capacity was only 48 kW. However, the installed capacity of hydropower stations has undergone significant development. In 1892, the capacity of the Niagara Hydropower Station in the United States was 44000 kW. By 1895, the installed capacity of the Niagara Hydropower Station had reached 147000 kW.

After entering the 20th century, hydropower in major developed countries has achieved rapid development. By 2021, the global installed capacity of hydropower will reach 1360GW.
The history of using water power in China can be traced back to more than 2000 years ago, using water to drive water wheels, water mills, and water mills for production and life.
The earliest hydropower station in China was built in 1904. It was the Guishan Hydropower Station built by the Japanese invaders in Taiwan, China.
The first hydropower station built in Chinese Mainland was Shilongba Hydropower Station in Kunming, which was started in August 1910 and generated power in May 1912, with a total installed capacity of 489kW.
In the next twenty years or so, due to the instability of the domestic situation, China’s hydropower development did not make significant progress, and only a few small-scale hydropower stations were built, typically including the Dongwo Hydropower Station in Luxian County, Sichuan, the Duodi Hydropower Station in Tibet, and the Xiadao, Shunchang, and Longxi Hydropower Stations in Fujian.
The time came during the Anti Japanese War, when domestic resources were mainly used to resist aggression, and only small-scale power stations were built in the southwest region, such as Taohuaxi Hydropower Station in Sichuan and Nanqiao Hydropower Station in Yunnan; In the Japanese occupied area, Japan has built several large hydropower stations, typically the Fengman Hydropower Station on the Songhua River in northeast China.
Before the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the installed capacity of hydropower in Chinese Mainland once reached 900000 kW. However, due to the losses caused by war, when the People’s Republic of China was founded, the installed capacity of hydropower in Chinese Mainland was only 363300 kW.
After the founding of New China, hydropower has received unprecedented attention and development. Firstly, several hydropower projects left over from the war years have been repaired and rebuilt; By the end of the first five-year plan, China had built and rebuilt 19 hydropower stations, and started designing and constructing large-scale hydropower projects on its own. The Zhejiang Xin’anjiang Hydropower Station with an installed capacity of 662500 kilowatts was constructed during this period, and it is also the first large-scale hydropower station designed, manufactured, and constructed by China itself.
During the “Great Leap Forward” period, China’s newly started hydropower projects reached 11.862 million kW. Some projects were not fully demonstrated, resulting in some projects being forced to stop construction after they started. In the following three years of natural disasters, a large number of projects were suspended or postponed. In short, from 1958 to 1965, the development of hydropower in China was very bumpy. However, 31 hydropower stations, including Xin’anjiang in Zhejiang, Xinfengjiang in Guangdong, and Xijin in Guangxi, were also put into operation for power generation. Overall, China’s hydropower industry has achieved a certain degree of development.
The time has come for the “Cultural Revolution” period. Although hydropower construction has again suffered serious interference and destruction, the strategic decision on the third line construction has also provided a rare opportunity for hydropower development in western China. During this period, 40 hydropower stations, including Liujiaxia in Gansu Province and Gongzui in Sichuan Province, were put into operation for power generation. The installed capacity of Liujiaxia Hydropower Station reached 1.225 million kW, making it the first hydropower station in China with an installed capacity of more than one million kW. During this period, China’s first pumped storage power station, Gangnan, Hebei, was also built. At the same time, 53 large and medium-sized hydropower projects were started or resumed during this period. In 1970, the Gezhouba Project with an installed capacity of 2.715 million kW began, marking the beginning of the construction of hydropower stations on the main stream of the Yangtze River.
After the end of the “Cultural Revolution”, especially after the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee, China’s hydropower industry has once again entered a stage of rapid development. A number of hydropower projects such as Gezhouba, Wujiangdu, and Baishan have accelerated, and the Longyangxia Hydropower Station with a unit capacity of 320000 kW has officially started construction. Subsequently, in the spring breeze of reform and opening up, China’s hydropower construction system has also been constantly changing and innovating, showing great vitality. During this period, pumped storage power stations also achieved significant development, with the first phase of pumping and storage in Panjiakou, Hebei, and Guangzhou starting; Small hydropower is also developing, with the implementation of the first batch of 300 hydropower rural electrification counties; In terms of large-scale hydropower, construction of several large-scale hydropower stations, such as Tianshengqiao Class II with an installed capacity of 1.32 million kW, Guangxi Yantan with an installed capacity of 1.21 million kW, Yunnan Manwan with an installed capacity of 1.5 million kW, and Lijiaxia Hydropower Station with an installed capacity of 2 million kW, has begun in succession. At the same time, domestic experts were organized to demonstrate the 14 topics of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station, and the construction of the Three Gorges Project was put on the agenda.
In the last decade of the 20th century, China’s hydropower construction has developed rapidly. In September 1991, the construction of Ertan Hydropower Station in Panzhihua, Sichuan, began. After a lot of argumentation and preparation, in December 1994, the high-profile Three Gorges Hydropower Station Project officially commenced. In terms of pumped storage power stations, Beijing’s Ming Tombs (800000kW), Zhejiang’s Tianhuangping (1800000kW), and Guangzhou’s pumped storage phase II (12000000kW) have also been started successively; In terms of small hydropower, the construction of the second and third batches of hydropower rural electrification counties has been implemented. In the past decade, the installed capacity of hydropower in China has increased by 38.39 million kW.
In the first decade of the 21st century, there are 35 large hydropower stations under construction, with a total installed capacity of about 70 million kW, including many super large hydropower stations such as the Three Gorges Project’s 22.4 million kW and Xiluodu’s 12.6 million kW. During this period, an average of more than 10 million kW has been put into operation every year. The most historic year is 2008, when the last unit of the Three Gorges Project’s right bank power station was officially connected to the grid for power generation, and all 26 units of the Three Gorges Project’s initially designed left and right bank power stations were put into operation.
Since the second decade of the 21st century, the giant hydropower stations on the main stream of the Jinsha River have been successively developed and continuously put into operation for power generation. The Xiluodu Hydropower Station with an installed capacity of 12.6 million kW, Xiangjiaba with an installed capacity of 6.4 million kW, Baihetan Hydropower Station with an installed capacity of 12 million yuan, Wudongde Hydropower Station with an installed capacity of 10.2 million yuan, and other giant hydropower stations have been put into operation for power generation. Among them, the single unit installed capacity of Baihetan Hydropower Station has reached 1 million kW, Reaching the highest level in the world. As for pumped storage power stations, as of 2022, there were only 70 pumped storage power stations under construction in the operation area of the State Grid of China, with an installed capacity of 85.24 million kilowatts, which was 3.2 times and 4.1 times that of 2012, respectively. Among them, Hebei Fengning Pumped Storage Power Station is the world’s largest installed pumped storage power station, with a total installed capacity of 3.6 million kilowatts.
With the continuous promotion of the “dual carbon” goal and the continuous strengthening of environmental protection, China’s hydropower development is also facing some new situations. Firstly, small hydropower stations located in protected areas will continue to withdraw and close, and secondly, the proportion of solar and wind energy in the newly installed capacity will continue to increase, and the proportion of hydropower will correspondingly decrease; Finally, we will focus on building giant hydropower projects, and the scientificity and rationality of construction projects will continue to increase.