24-10-05 China, with the most abundant hydro-electric resources in the world, has a potential hydro-electricity generating capacity exceeding 400 mm kW, said Gu Hongbin, an expert with the China Hydroelectricity Project Consulting Group.
Gu made the remark at a high-level seminar on China's hydroelectricity development and environmental protection.

By the end of 2004, China's installed capacity of hydro-electric generators was 100 mm kW, only accounting for 24.6 % of the total installed capacity in the country, Gu said. The installed capacity of thermal-electric generators by the end of 2004 reached 320 mm kW, accounting for 73.7 % of the total, according to Gu.
As most of China's power plants are thermal-powered, which heavily pollute the environment, the country needs to make all-out effort to develop renewable hydroelectric resources so as to meet the domestic demand of electric power, he said.

Figures show that hydroelectricity accounts for 63.3 % of the total power consumption in Norway, and 38.6 % in Brazil.
The installed capacity of hydro-electric generators will reach 165 mm kW in five years, and 250 mm kW by 2020, 26.3 % of the total expected installed capacity, according to estimates.