On the Road Encounters with People in China

Image 22

In 1988, China produced 543,000,000 kW h of electricity. Some 108,000,000 of this were from hydroelectric stations, although the country has tapped only 7% of its hydropower potential. Most power stations are the traditional large-supply type, but China also leads the world in the use of small power stations that supply local industries. A nuclear power plant near Shanghai with a capacity of 300,000 kW was scheduled to begin operation in 1990; another near Hong Kong, with a capacity of 1,800,000 kW, was to be completed in 1993. Plans to build a giant hydroelectric project (17,000 MW capacity) on the Sun-men Gorge of the Chang Jiang were postponed in 1989 for at environmental impact.