Analysis of the impact of severe drought in the upper Yangtze River basin on the hydroelectricity production of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station in 2022

doi:10.12006/j.issn.1673-1719.2023.157

Abstract

Abstract:

High temporal resolution hydrologic data of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station were used to calculate high temporal resolution data of hydroelectricity production. Accordingly, the impact of severe drought in the Upper Yangtze River basin on hydroelectricity production of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station in 2022 was quantified. And, the mechanism of the impact of meteorological drought on hydropower power was analyzed by combining the precipitation data of meteorological stations in the confluence area. The results showed that the reduction of hydroelectricity production of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station in 2022 was mainly concentrated in July-November, which the total hydroelectricity production decreased by 24.110 billion kW·h (44.75%) compared with the normal condition. Among them, the decrease in hydroelectricity production was the largest in September, with hydroelectricity production decreased by 6.843 billion kW·h (61.05%) compared with normal condition. In 2022, the meteorological drought in July and August in the confluence area of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station quickly caused the hydrological drought. Meanwhile, the adjustment capacity of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station was weak from June to November, and the impact of hydrological drought on hydroelectricity production was strong. The meteorological drought that occurred in the confluence area of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station in July-August and the requirement for flood control storage capacity both had a strong impact on hydroelectricity production, and its function of “saving abundant and replenishment dry” had also been obviously adversely affected.

Key words: Severe drought in 2022, Three Gorges Hydropower Station, Hydroelectricity production, The upper Yangtze River basin

LIU Zhe, WANG Fei, HAN Qin-Mei, JIANG Lu, SHI Pei-Jun. Analysis of the impact of severe drought in the upper Yangtze River basin on the hydroelectricity production of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station in 2022[J]. Climate Change Research, 2024, 20(1): 37-47.

Figures/Tables 16

Fig. 1 Map of the upper Yangtze River basin and meteorological stations used

Table 1 Drought classification table of standardized precipitation index

Table 2 SPI-2 and corresponding drought grade for each month in the upper Yangtze River basin in 2022

Fig. 2 The average change rate of precipitation, water inflow and water outflow in each month of 2022 compared with 2013-2021 average in the upper Yangtze River basin

Fig. 3 Average changes of Three Gorges reservoir water level, downstream water level and water head in each month of 2022 compared with 2013-2021 average

Fig. 4 Comparison of daily Three Gorges reservoir water level, downstream water level and water head in 2022 with 2013-2021 average

Fig. 5 The comparison between the calculated annual hydroelectricity production of Three Gorges Hydropower Station and the actual annual hydroelectricity production

Fig. 6 The error rate of quarterly and annual calculated hydroelectricity production of Three Gorges Hydropower Station

Fig. 7 Variation of the calculated hydroelectricity production by month in 2022 compared with the average hydroelectricity production in 2013-2021 in Three Gorges Hydropower Station

Fig. 8 Comparison of the calculated daily hydroelectricity production in 2022 with average hydroelectricity production in 2013-2021 in Three Gorges Hydropower Station

Fig. 9 The correlation coefficient between the amount of monthly water in storage and SPI on 1-24 month time scale in the upper Yangtze River basin

Fig. 10 The amount of water in and out of storage in each month in the Three Gorges reservoir

Table 3 The correlation coefficient between the amount of water in storage and the relevant factors of hydroelectricity production in each month in the Three Gorges reservoir

Fig. 11 Flow diagram of hydrological drought affecting water head

Fig. 12 Comparison of daily discharge of Three Gorges reservoir and daily flow of Yichang station in 2022

Fig. 13 The correlation coefficient between the amount of monthly hydroelectricity production and SPI on 1-24 month time scale in the Three Gorges reservoir

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