An additional 16-million-kilowatts capacity was installed in China's rural hydropower during the 10th Five-year Plan Period (2001-2005) which generated 560 billion kwh and gave access to electricity to 12 million rural population living in dark.

The hydropower supply in rural areas is priced lower by 0.3 yuan per kwh on average, reducing farmers' spending on power by more than 4 billion yuan per year. The hydropower has proven to be crucial in the development of the rural community, the improvement in the energy structure and the rural environment protection.

Officials with the Ministry of Water Resources say the newly installed hydropower in rural areas doubled efficiency in the past five years compared with that in the Ninth Five-year Plan (1996-2000).

Hydropower infrastructure construction of the 400 counties in the program of electrification has gone ahead better than expected. Each county has 30,000 kilowatts added to the capacity annually on average, which generated 100 million kwh of electricity.

At least partly boosted by the improvement of power generation, the GDP growth rate of those 400 counties reached 15 percent annually, 1.7 times as that of the national average.

China has set the goal for the rural hydropower construction for the 11th Five-year Plan starting from this year through 2010. Another 16 million kilowatts of hydropower will be installed, 400 electrified counties enjoying well-off life be built, fuel be replaced by small hydropower facilities for 10 million farmers, a permanent source of income be provided through hydropower development to 10 million impoverished farmers, and 10 million population be taken out of darkness.

It is expected that all the villages in China will have access to electricity by 2010.

By People's Daily Online