---From Sept.2nd to 4th 2009, Academic
Exchange Symposium on Small and Medium Hydropower Construction
and Management was convened in Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture
in Hunan Province. The symposium was jointly sponsored
by Hunan Provincial Society of Hydroelectric Engineering
and Hubei Provincial Society of Hydroelectric Engineering
and organized by Water Conservancy Bureau of Xiangxi Autonomous
Prefecture. The symposium focused on the following six
subjects: small and medium hydropower planning (station
and river basin planning), construction and management,
investment and financing systems of small and medium hydropower,
design and construction of small and medium hydropower
stations, safe and economical operation and management
of small and medium hydropower plants, unattended (few
on duty) small and medium hydropower stations, environmental
protection concerning small and medium hydropower stations.
Mr. Zhao Jianda, Deputy Secretary-General
of SHP Special Committee of Chinese Society of Hydroelectric
Engineering (CSHEE), Associate Executive Editor of the
journal Small Hydro Power of HRC and Chief of Editorial
Division of HRC, participated in the symposium upon invitation
and took his seat at the rostrum. He was invited as the
first speaker to give an academic report on SHP Resources
and Development in China and Discussion over SHP Academic
Concerns in the New Era. With latest official statistics,
Mr. Zhao introduced the hydro energy resources in rural
areas and their distributions, the developing and utilizing
situation of the resources in the 60 years since the foundation
of PRC, national rural hydropower and electrification
construction, pilot projects and expanding pilot projects
construction for Replacing Fuel Wood with SHP Project,
planning for rural electrification through hydropower
from 2011 to 2020, especially the SHP resources and the
developing and utilizing situation in Hunan and Hubei
Provinces and academic concerns over SHP in the new era,
etc. His report was highly appreciated by the host, the
leaders and the experts present.
Hydropower is the most abundant, developed
and the only industrialized clean and renewable energy
of scale at present. To put hydropower in priority, to
develop it rapidly, scientifically, orderly, properly
and harmoniously is a must for improving the social and
economic development nationwide and for enhancing the
living and working conditions for the people. Currently,
only 30% of hydropower is exploited in China with unbalanced
levels among different provinces. As a result, we still
have a long way to go to fully develop hydropower resources.
Taking Hunan and Hubei provinces as an example, large-scale
hydropower stations are nearly fully developed, leaving
small and medium hydropower projects to be developed.
Small and medium hydropower development, which has become
a major subject of hydropower construction, will play
a key role in energy conservation, emission reduction,
and sustainable development of county economy and in supporting
the development of agriculture, rural areas and farmers.
We ought to pay more attention to small and medium hydropower,
infuse more technical input into it and to develop new
materials, dam types, structures, techniques and equipment
which are of low cost, new technology and which are simple
and reliable for SHP use.
Academic exchange is the fundamental
part to an academic society. As a mass academic group
of hydropower and power generating industry, Chinese Society
of Hydroelectric Engineering (CSHEE) focuses its efforts
on professional academic exchange and discussion. After
participation in this symposium, the influence of HRC
and SHP Special Committee has been expanded among SHP
circle in Hunan and Hubei Provinces. What's more, the
establishment of SHP Special Committee and the work it
carries on, particularly the preparation situation for
the First Chinese SHP Forum and the public collection
of papers for this forum are presented. (2009-09-15)
