The first unit of the Maredang Hydropower Station, co-constructed by China Gezhouba Group Corporation No. 2 Engineering Co., Ltd. under Energy China, was officially connected to the grid and entered into operation on April 1.

The connection also marks a crucial step towards the full operation of the core of Energy China's first 10-million-kilowatt integrated clean energy facility including hydropower, wind power, solar power and energy storage in the upstream Qinghai section of the Yellow River.

A view of the Maerdang hydropower station in Qinghai province

The Maerdang hydropower station was the highest-altitude facility of its kind with the largest installed capacity in the Yellow River basin. With a total storage capacity of 1.622 billion cubic meters, it serves as a major power provider in the "west-to-east power transmission" and "Qinghai-to-Henan power transmission" projects.

Located in Maqin County of Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of northwest China's Qinghai Province, the station has a total installed capacity of 2.32 million kilowatts, consisting of four hydrogenerators with a capacity of 550,000 kilowatts each and one with a capacity of 120,000 kilowatts.

The first operational unit boasts an installed capacity of 550,000 kilowatts, expected to generate 13.2 million kWh of green electricity each day, which can meet the daily electricity demand of 1.1 million households.

Once fully operational, it will generate an average of more than 7.3 billion kWh of electricity per year, meeting the electricity demand of 2.85 million households for a year. This is equivalent to saving approximately 2.2 million tons of standard coal annually. It will provide a steady supply of renewable energy for Qinghai province and eastern regions of China.

China Gezhouba Group Corporation No. 2 Engineering Co., Ltd. has taken on the construction tasks of key areas including the underground main powerhouse, water diversion system, and slope engineering.

The underground powerhouse, completed 56 days ahead of schedule, spans 242.6 meters in length, 29.3 meters in width, and 74.8 meters in height, equivalent to a towering 25-story building.

With a voluminous capacity of 485,300 cubic meters, it is the highest-altitude and largest-scale underground powerhouse under construction in China.