Datengxia project powers green growth and flood control

The Datengxia water resources management facility in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region has generated 30 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity as of Tuesday, while maintaining continuous safe operation for more than 2,300 days, according to the Ministry of Water Resources.

The milestone has injected strong green momentum into realizing China's national climate targets and provided support to the country's high-quality economic and social development, the ministry said.

The country aims to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and realize carbon neutrality before 2060.

The 30 billion kWh of green electricity can meet the power demand of a city with a population of 2 million for nearly two years, and is estimated to support about 425 billion yuan ($63 billion) in GDP growth, according to the ministry.

That green energy output translates into savings of some 9.9 million metric tons of standard coal and a reduction of nearly 24.75 million tons in carbon dioxide emissions.

The main structure of the Datengxia project was completed on Sep 2, 2023, four months ahead of schedule, the ministry said.

Located on the Xijiang River, a tributary of the Pearl River, the Datengxia project has eight power generation units, each with an installed capacity of 200,000 kilowatts. It can annually generate more than 6 billion kWh of electricity.

The ministry said the project is also expected to contribute to flood control, navigation, water resources allocation, and irrigation in the Pearl River Basin.

In cooperation with other reservoirs in the basin, the project can help Wuzhou, a city with a population of over 2.8 million in Guangxi, cope with once-in-a-century floods.

Previously, the city was only able to withstand floods that occur once every 50 years, the ministry said.