---Mr. Chen Lei, the minister of Chinese
Ministry of Water Resources (MWR), said recently that
China would vigorously develop the rural hydropower, newly
add 4 million kW installed capacity, strengthen the management
of rural hydro energy resources, finish the investigation
and evaluation, perform well pilot projects of rural hydro
energy resources planning, and promote transfer of use
and development right of hydro resources on a payable
basis.
Mr. Tian Zhongxing, the director general
of Rural Hydropower & Electrification Bureau of Water
Resources Ministry, introduced that construction of China
rural hydropower went on with rapid growth in 2007. The
annual incremental installed capacity of rural hydropower
was 6 million kW, and SHP constructing scale reached more
than 20 million kW. Expanding the pilot project of Small
hydropower replacing firewood would be fully active. The
construction of rural hydropower electrification was steadily
promoted. Hunan, Guizhou, Sichuan, more than 10 provinces
and regions which were rich in hydropower resources, issued
the laws and regulations to strengthen management of hydro
energy resources.
China deserves the "Small Hydropower
Kingdom". According to statistics from the Ministry
of Water Resources, the exploitable rural hydraulic energy
resources were 12.8 million kW, which ranked the first
in the world. By the end of 2006, there were more than
40000 rural hydropower stations with annual power generation
over 150 billion kWh were operating in the whole country.
The rural hydropower had been the important component
of supplying state electricity, supplying the electricity
to half of the territory, one third of the counties and
a quarter of the whole population. At the end of 2007,
the new incremental hydropower installed capacity was
over 15 million kW, of which 6 million kW was the rural
hydropower.กกกก
Mr. Chen Lei expressed that the hydropower
was a clean and renewable energy, mostly concentrated
in the central and western regions. Its distribution was
in line with the strategic layout of the economic coordinated
development of the urban and rural region. On the basis
of ecological protection, orderly development of the hydropower
resources and accelerating the hydropower development
was of strategic significance and play irreplaceable important
role in easing the energy supply and demand contradiction,
improving energy structure, protecting the ecological
environment and promoting sustainable social and economic
development.(2008-02-21)
