Project:
Hydro Power in China
Cost P/Tonne: £6.98
This project is a run-on-river hydro power station situated in China that produces renewable hydropower. This power is sold on to the Central China Power Grid (CCPG) in order to partially recoup the project costs. The project greatly benefits environment through reducing China’s ever-growing reliance on coal fuelled power stations that emit large amounts of CO2. It also benefits the local economy through jobs and the opportunity for development.
Project Contribution to sustainability:
1. Social well being:
The project contributes to the development of the region.
During civil works, a lot of construction work took place, which generated employment for local people around the plant site.
Operation and maintenance of the power station generate employment opportunities on a regular and permanent basis.
2. Economic well being:
The project activity generates employment in the local area.
The project activity has lead to investments in a developing region which would not have happened in the absence of project activity.
The generated electricity is fed into the regional grid, thereby improving the grid stability and availability of electricity to local consumers (villagers & sub-urban habitants) which will provide new opportunities for industries and economic activities to be setup in the area, thereby resulting in greater local employment, ultimately leading to overall development.
In recent years, China has witnessed a huge increase in power consumption. Both public and private parties are struggling to meet the demand for electricity. The hydropower project will contribute in a sustainable manner to bridging the gap between supply and demand of power on a regional and national level.
The project activity has also led to diversification of the national energy supply, which is dominated by fossil fuel (mainly coal) based generating units.
The project contributes to the economic sustainability by promoting decentralization of economic power to rural areas in China.
3. Environmental well being:
Use of a renewable energy sources helps the conservation of natural resources in the country. In China, the lion share of total electricity production is derived from coal based power plants. Being so heavily dependant on coal for its energy requirements, this project, in addition to its inherent contribution to climate change mitigation, carries environmental benefits for the country’s air, soil and water resources. The project increases the share of renewable energy generation in China, making a
contribution to avoid the construction of new fossil fuel fired power plants. As compared to these power plants, the project reduces CO2, SOx and NOx emissions significantly, thus mitigating air pollution and its adverse impacts on human health.
As hydropower projects produce no end products in the form of solid waste (ash etc.), they address the problem of solid waste disposal encountered by most other sources of power.
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