(TibetanReview.net, Jun27’23) – China says the first phase of the Kela photovoltaic (PV) power station, the world’s largest and highest-altitude hydropower and PV complementary power station it is building in occupied eastern Tibet, had begun producing electricity on Jun 25.
Built in the Yalong River Basin in Garze (or Ganzi, Tibetan: Kardze) Prefecture of Sichuan Province, the project covers an area of around 16 million square metres, which is equivalent to 2,000 standard football fields, noted China’s official globaltimes.cn Jun 25.
The plant is part of a huge renewable production base planned by the Chinese government to eventually generate clean energy for 100 million households – almost equal to the US population – for the length of the 1,500km-long river, noted the scmp.com Jun 26.
Located in the western part of Kela in Yajiang (Nyagchu) county, at an altitude ranging from 4,000 to 4,600 metres, the project’s highest point is stated to be nearly 1,000 metres higher than Lhasa, the historical capital of undivided Tibet.
The electricity generated by the solar panels will be connected to the Lianghekou hydroelectric power station, and then integrated into the power grid.
This technology is said to have solved the safe connection of solar power with the grid and prevents wastage, addressing solar power’s inherent dependence on the weather.
With an annual energy output of 2 billion kilowatt-hours, this first phase of the Kela photovoltaic power station has the capacity to meet the energy demand of up to 700,000 households, said the scmp.com, citing state media.
The globaltimes.cn report said the project will save over 600,000 tons of standard coal annually and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 1.6 million tons, a significant contribution to the rapid development of the new-energy industry in the region.