By Daniel Itai
The world’s largest hydro-solar power plant, the Kela photovoltaic (PV) power station, is now operational. It is located in the Tibetan
autonomous prefecture of Garze, in southwest China’s Sichuan province, and covers an area of approximately 16 million square meters.
The planning of the Kela plant by Power China began in 2016, with feasibility design work commencing in 2021 and construction officially starting in July 2022.
With an installed capacity of one million kilowatts, the first phase of the Kela solar power station has an annual generating capacity of two billion kilowatt-hours (kWh).
“The instability, fluctuation, and intermittency of PV power generation have a certain impact on the safety of the power grid, so combining solar and hydro power is considered an effective way to make it more stable,” said Wu Di, Power China’s chief design engineer.
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The electricity generated by the solar panels will be connected to the Lianghekou hydroelectric power station and integrated into the power grid.
It is estimated that the project will save over 600,000 tons of standard coal annually and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more
than 1.6 million tons.
Meanwhile, China’s longest deepwater oil and gas pipeline, a 115.5-kilometer submarine trunk pipeline, is entering its final stage before operation.
“We have successfully resolved world-class technical challenges in the construction of ultra-long, ultra-high, and suspension-span submarine pipelines, achieving more than 10 technological breakthroughs,” said Guo Qing, the project manager of the second phase project.
According to experts, the completion of the second phase project marks the establishment of a complete set of deep-sea oil and gas exploration and development technology systems in China, strengthening the country’s capability to ensure its energy security.
