Background

Since coal power dominates the rapidly expanding electricity grid in China, the current emissions for each unit of electricity generated is very high. The cost of developing renewable power plants (running on water-power, for example) is significantly higher than that of coal-fired ones, making the support from carbon finance essential to the ‘greening’ of the country’s energy generation. However, it has never been more critical to help China divert to a low-carbon path as more and more business floods into the country.


The project

In the remote mountain village of Yonghong sits the Mani Hydro Power Station, on the banks of the Yinhe River, Sichuan Province. Water from the river is diverted steeply downhill via a 400m slope which surfaces at the power plant and is directed through two 7 MW water turbines. Production peaks during the rainy season (April to July), and on average produces 60GWh a year, the equivalent to supplying around 14,000 average homes in the UK with clean, renewable electricity. Photo: water is directed steeply downhill to maximise the power generated by its flow - Photo courtesy of Climate Bridge

Mr Like Lazu, a local resident employed by the local county, told us how Mani has improved his family’s quality of living;

“Our income has increased. We used to buy our clothes and salt with money from selling crops. All of our revenue came from selling bamboo shoots, potatoes and the corn my family planted. After I started working for Mani last year, I have had a monthly income of RMB 800, which is much higher than our regional average. We did not have a TV set before, but now we have one. Also, we have better clothes.”

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