(Yicai) July 21 -- Chinese state-owned clean energy giant SDIC Power Holdings said it has teamed up with battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology to invest CNY33.4 billion (USD4.9 billion) building a new large hydropower station in the Yalong River Basin on the eastern edge of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau.

SDIC Power's subsidiary Yalong River Hydropower Development plans to set up a 90:10 joint venture project firm with CATL that will be responsible for the investment, construction, and development of the Yagen II Hydropower Station, the parent company announced late yesterday. Construction is expected to take 101 months.

CATL has not made a relevant announcement, while SDIC Power did not provide details on the alliance.

The Yagen II Hydropower Station has a designed installed capacity of 2.4 gigawatts, with four water turbine generator units having a capacity of 600,000 kilowatts each, SDIC Power pointed out. The station will likely generate about 8.6 billion kW-hours of electricity a year, which can cut annual carbon dioxide emissions by 4.5 million tons, according to calculations based on calorific value, it noted.

The first unit is scheduled to go into operation in 2035, with the rest to follow a year later, SDIC Power said, adding that the project still requires final approval from the National Development and Reform Commission.

The Yagen II Hydropower Station, located on the main stream of the Yalong River in Sichuan province's Yajiang county, is part of the "One Regulating Reservoir, Seven Cascade Stations" hydropower development plan for the middle reaches of the Yalong River, SDIC Power pointed out. Two other stations have already gone live, three are under construction, and the last has not started building yet, it added.

Yalong River Hydropower Development is the authorized developer of cascade hydropower stations in the mainstream of the Yalong River.

Five power stations located in the downstream of the basin have become operational, which, combined with the two in the middle reaches, raise the installed capacity of the power stations in the entire basin to 19.2 million kW, SDIC Power said, but noted that the 10 upstream power stations are still in the long-term planning phase.

The Yagen II Hydropower Station is one of the key engineering projects for the development of cascade hydropower stations in the middle reaches of the Yalong River, SDIC Power stressed. After going live, it will further optimize the mix of Sichuan's power system and unleash the potential for coordinated water resource scheduling of the seven cascade stations in the middle reaches of the river, enhancing the profitability of Yalong River Hydropower Development, it pointed out.

SDIC Power's clean energy installed capacity accounted for 72 percent of its total as of the end of last year, while hydropower installed capacity made up 45 percent, according to its annual financial report. Yalong River Hydropower Development, which is responsible for the development of the Yalong River basin, is the company's core hydropower asset.

At the end of last year, CATL also took a 10 percent stake in a project company that will oversee the Danba hydropower station of GD Power Development, another state-owned power investment titan. Located on the Dadu River, the station will have an installed capacity of 1.15 million kW.

CATL's investment in big hydropower projects will help it transform from a battery manufacturer to a comprehensive energy solutions provider, industry insiders pointed out, adding that the company will build a complete green energy closed-loop from power generation and storage to consumption by investing in upstream clean power.

Shares of SDIC Power [SHA: 600886] climbed 0.5 percent to close at CNY15.03 (USD2.22) each in Shanghai today. CATL's stock [SHE: 300750] ended 1.5 percent higher at CNY382.20 (USD56.43). The broader Shanghai stock market rose 1.9 percent, while the Shenzhen Component Index soared 4.8 percent.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev