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China's Three Gorges Starts Generator a Year Early |
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| CHINA: September 20, 2005 | ||
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BEIJING - Energy-starved China has put the final power generator on the left bank of the Three Gorges Dam into action a year ahead of schedule, the China Three Gorges Project Corp said on Monday. The last of the 14 generators, each with a capacity of 700 megawatts, begun commercial operation on Friday, the company said on its Web site, www.ctgpc.com.cn.
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Construction of 12 generators on the right bank of the dam would start soon, the company said. The Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydroelectricity project, has generated more than 80 billion kilowatt hours of electricity since its first generator started production in 2003, it said. "It has effectively eased the energy crunch in the eastern and central parts of the country," the statement said. Last year, the country's worst power shortage in two decades contributed to a 15 percent jump in oil demand in China as businesses rushed to buy individual diesel-powered generators to combat blackouts. The firm originally planned to put 26 generators with total capacity of 18,200 megawatts into operation by 2009, but has said it plans to boost the capacity to 22,400 megawatts by adding six underground generators. This year, heavy rains and smoother coal would likely ease the supply shortfall in the world's second largest electricity consumer to around 30 gigawatts from some 40 gigawatts last year, officials said.
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REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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