'Golden era' for hydropower projects

The hydropower sector in China is enjoying a "golden age" with the nation's plans for capacity expansion this year and to cut carbon emissions, industry officials said on Wednesday.

China has set a target of having non-fossil fuels make up 15 percent of its total energy use by 2020. To achieve this goal, the country will need to rely on hydropower, Zhang Jun, deputy general manager of the northwest branch of China Power Investment Corp, said on Wednesday during the 2015 World Hydropower Congress in Beijing.

CPIC is a State-owned power generation enterprise.

"We are in a golden age for the development of hydropower, because it has many advantages over other energy sources," he said. "The benchmark price for hydropower is very low and unlike solar and wind power, hydropower is a very stable source."

The nation's installed hydropower capacity was 300 gigawatts in 2014, or 67 percent of the total renewable generation capacity. China aims to have 420 gW of hydropower capacity by 2020, up from an earlier target of 380 gW, according to the National Energy Administration.

Several new hydropower projects, including dams on the Jinsha River, as the northern section of the Yangtze River in Yunnan province is known, are expected to start construction this year, said Zhang Boting, deputy secretary-general of the China Hydropower Engineering Society.

But he warned there could be a surplus of hydropower capacity in the southwestern regions such as Yunnan and Sichuan provinces due to poor grid access.

He also said that the industry is being held back by issues like environmental protection and resettlement of local residents, which raise costs.