Due to a breakdown in "tripping" taking place in test operations of
the second generating unit of China's Three Gorges Project on July
15, the plan of transmitting electricity from the Three Gorges to
Shanghai on July 17 will be postponed.
Sources from relevant authorities in the Three Gorges say the new
plan for the electricity transmission depends on the current
overhaul of the No. 2 unit and test operation conditions. So, the
date is pretty variable, which may possibly fall on the 18th or be
postponed to next week.
The No. 2 unit, built by a consortium comprised of Hewitt, Siemens
and General Electric (GE), planned to transmit electricity to east
China with a capacity of 210,000 kwh after a 7-day test run.
Shanghai was to have 100,000 kwh of the total. But, it is
unfortunate that something went wrong on the sixth day of the test
run and the original plan stopped.
If
everything goes smoothly with the test operation on the 17th, the
electricity will be transmitted to east China the next day on the
18th, while it is also possible for the No. 2 unit to be put in
test operation for anther seven days so that the electricity
transmission will be postponed to next week, according sources from
the Three Gorges Project.
A
total of 540,000 kwh will be generated by both the second and the
fifth generators in the Three Gorges to meet the power demand in
east China. The No. 2 unit was planned to firstly generate 210,000
kwh in July this year to the east and the No. 5 unit to generate
330,000 kwh in August. Out of the total volume, Shanghai will get a
total of 211,400 kwh.
Launched in 1993 and expected to be completed by 2009, the Three
Gorges Project will be installed with 26 generators, each with a
generating capacity of 700,000 kw. Out of the total, 14 will be
built on the northern bank of the Yangtze River.
The project will begin to pay off later this year, playing an
important role in flood control, power generation, navigation,
water diversion and environmental protection, said an official from
the China Yangtze River Three Gorges Project Development
Corporation.
(China.org.cn by Zhang Tingting, July 17, 2003)