POWER September 2013 - 14

Nevertheless, some international players disagree that thorium
has a future as a nuclear fuel. The UK's National Nuclear Laboratory
in 2010, for example, concluded that in the short to medium term,
a thorium fuel cycle is " likely to have only a limited role internationally
for some years ahead. The technology is " innovative, " the
entity said, but noted it is " technically immature and currently
not of interest to the utilities, representing significant financial
investment and risk without notable benefits. In many cases, the
benefits of the thorium fuel cycle have been over-stated. "
China's Second- and Third-Largest MegaDams
Mark Operational Milestones
China hit two of its most significant hydroelectric milestones in
recent months: Initial operation of the 13.86-GW Xiluodu project-the
country's second-largest hydropower project after the
22.5-GW Three Gorges Dam-and commercial operation of four
800-MW units at the 6.4-GW Xiangjiaba underground hydropower
plant, which when completed will be China's third-largest hydropower
plant.
In mid-July, China Three Gorges Corp. (CTG) announced that
the first of 18 770-MW Francis turbine generators at the enormous
Xiluodu project on the lower reaches of the Jinsha River
in Yunnan Province and Sichuan Province, southwest China, officially
started operations after completing a three-day test run.
Unit " 13F " is providing power to the China Southern Power Grid.
Construction of the massive $6.2 billion project-including its
912-foot-tall double-curvature arch dam and a reservoir with a
capacity of 12.67 billion cubic meters-began in 2005. The dam
will generate power from two underground power stations, each
equipped with nine turbines, located on the right and left banks of
the river. All 18 generating units are scheduled to be completed by
2014, when the project will rank as the third-largest power plant in
the world, after the Three Gorges and Brazilian Itaipu complexes.
3. Bulk and brawn. Four of eight planned units began commercial
operation at the Xiangjiaba underground hydro power plant on
the Jinsha River, in southwestern China this July. This image shows
the installation of the upper bracket of the Alstom-manufactured 800MW
class unit, which comprises a Francis turbine coupled to an 889
MVA generator. Alstom says the units are the " world's most powerful "
hydroelectric generating units. Courtesy: Alstom
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POWER September 2013

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