The No. 26 turbine generator, made by Harbin Electric Machinery Co., went into operation at around 11 a.m. after passing a 72-hourtrial period. The electricity will be transmitted to the state power grid to fuel energy-hungry areas in eastern China.

In trial operation, the 50-meter high, 7,000-ton super-large generator achieved its 756 MW capacity and the electricity met state power grid requirements, said officials attending the ceremony at which the generating unit was turned over to the Three Gorges Hydro-Power Plant.

"Successful operation of the No. 26 generator shows that China is able to design, manufacture, install and operate 700,000-kilowatt water turbine generators," said Yang Qing, deputy general manager of the China Yangtze Three Gorges Project Corporation (CTGPC).

"We have made breakthroughs in new hydro-turbine design and air-cooling, two key technologies in manufacturing turbine generators," Yang Qing said at the handover ceremony.

"The No. 26 turbine appears to be running more steadily than the other 15 generators mostly made by overseas companies. The air-cooling technology seems to be better than water-cooling technologies for generators," Yang added.

Another seven turbines made by the Harbin-based company and Dongfang Electrical Machinery Co. Ltd. and four imported turbines will go into operation on the right bank of the Yangtze River at the end of 2008.

The National Audit Office (NAO) has said that the use of eight China-made generators will save 356 million yuan (about 47.5 million U.S. dollars) compared with purchasing machines made by foreign companies.

The operation of the No. 26 turbine generator is the latest example of the Chinese government's strategy of developing advanced technologies on home soil, Yang said.

In 1996, the CTGPC invited overseas manufacturers to bid for contracts worth 16.35 million U.S. dollars to supply 14 turbine generators on the left bank of the Three Gorges dam.

The contracts were won by a consortium of GEC Alstom and Swedish-Swiss ABB and another consortium consisting of Voith HydroGmbH, GE Hydro and GE International Inc, and Siemens AG (VGS).

China's Harbin Electrical Machine Factory Co Ltd and Dongfang Electrical Machinery Co Ltd joined the two consortiums as subcontractors for the 14 units.

"Working with the foreign companies facilitated the transfer and assimilation of advanced technology," said Liang Weiyan, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

The 180-billion-yuan Three Gorges project, which was launched in 1993, will have 32 generators with a combined generating capacity of 22.4 million kilowatts.

The electricity generated by the project fuels 15 provinces in central, eastern and southern China, easing a severe power shortage in industrial regions, according to the China Three Gorges Project Corporation.

China plans to install another 26 super-large turbines ranging from 700 MW to 750 MW in power stations along the Jinsha River section of the Yangtze, said Cao Guangjing, CTGPC deputy general manager.

(Xinhua News Agency July 10, 2007)