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Baihetan Hydropower Station completes upgrade of key control systems
2026-01-21
Source: Three Gorges Xiaowei
Recently, Unit 1 of the Baihetan Hydropower Station on the Jinsha River was successfully put into operation after completing the upgrade of its key industrial control systems. This upgrade has accumulated valuable experience for the modernization of industrial control systems in China's hydropower sector and other major equipment fields.
Key industrial control systems are described as the “neural center” and “decision‑making brain” of hydropower units, as their performance directly impacts the stability, safety, and overall efficiency of unit operations.
“Baihetan Hydropower Station is a major national project representing the top level of China's hydropower industry. This upgrade is not only an equipment renewal, but also a full technological chain integration from underlying chips and operating systems to upper‑layer application software, successfully establishing a new technological benchmark for ‘Chinese‑made chips',” said Zhang Ge, Director and Deputy Party Secretary of China Yangtze Power's Baihetan Hydropower Plant.
Located on the Jinsha River at the border of Qiaojia County in Yunnan Province and Ningnan County in Sichuan Province, the Baihetan Hydropower Station is developed and constructed by China Three Gorges Corporation. With a total installed capacity of 16 GW, it is equipped with 16 domestically developed 1,000 MW hydroelectric generating units—the largest single‑unit capacity in the world. All units were commissioned and began generating electricity in 2022.
As a national key project implementing the “West‑East Power Transmission” strategy, Baihetan Hydropower Station delivers comprehensive benefits in flood control, power generation, and ecological regulation. Together with the Gezhouba, Three Gorges, Xiangjiaba, Xiluodu, and Wudongde cascade hydropower stations, it forms the world's largest clean energy corridor, strengthening the country's ability to safeguard the Yangtze River's flood control, water supply, navigation, energy, and ecological security.