At the world's largest hydropower plant, China's Three Gorges Project, fourteen generating units have passed a 72-hour full operating capacity test, an official in charge of the project said on Sunday.

 

Over a period of three days ending 9:00 AM Sunday the 14 units generated 700,000 kwh of electricity without displaying any problems, said Li Yong'an, general manager of the China Three Gorges Project Corporation.

 

Li said generator performance can only be tested thoroughly by putting them through a 72-hour full capacity test.

 

This is the first time China has independently operated such a big group of generating units. There are only 37 such units with a capacity of 700,000 kw in the entire world.

 

The water level in the Three Gorges Reservoir began to rise from the 135.5 meter mark on September 20 and reached the 156 meters on Friday. According to the original design a water level of 148 meters is required for full generation capacity.

 

The 14 generating units underwent a one-day full generation capacity test on October 18.

 

Since being commissioned in 2003 the units had been generating 550,000 kwh of electricity from the lower water level in the Three Gorges Reservoir, Li said, adding the successful test showed the generating units had coped well with the rising water level.

 

More than 1.2 million people, over 85 percent of those covered by the original plan, have been relocated to make way for the gigantic project and the remainder will be resettled before the water level in the reservoir reaches 175 meters in 2008. This is one year ahead of schedule.

 

Launched in 1993 and being built at an estimated cost of 180 billion yuan (about US$22.5 billion) the Three Gorges Project on the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, China's longest waterway, will eventually have 26 generators with a combined generating capacity of 18.2 million kw and be able to generate 84.7 billion kwh of electricity annually. The remaining 12 generating units are under construction.

 

As of Sunday the Three Gorges Project had generated over 138 billion kwh of electricity.

 

(Xinhua News Agency October 30, 2006)