Three Gorges hydropower station generates over 1.6 trln kWh of electricity in 20 years

BEIJING -- The Three Gorges Hydroelectric Power Station on China's Yangtze River has generated over 1.6 trillion kWh of electricity in 20 years since its first generator unit was put into operation to generate electricity in July 2003, official data showed Monday.

The clean energy produced by the Three Gorges Hydroelectric Power Station in the past two decades is estimated to be equivalent to the electricity generated by more than 480 million tonnes of standard coal and reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 1.32 billion tonnes, helping China build a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system.

With 34 hydropower turbo-generators, the hydropower station has a combined energy generating capacity of 22.5 million kilowatts and a designed annual power generation of 88.2 billion kWh.

The hydropower station, considered a backbone of China's electricity system, transmits clean electricity mainly to eastern, central and southern China.