Nation's major data center launched; will boost regional development

The first phase of what will be the biggest data center in Central China was put into operation on Nov 30, providing secure and efficient data storage and a capacity for calculation for the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, according to its operator, China Three Gorges Corp.

The Dongyuemiao data center, located in Yichang, Hubei province, is the latest effort by China Three Gorges Corp in digital transformation and new infrastructure construction, the company said.

What the project also does is to join a huge source of green power with a major data center, which is considered an important step on the path to a more sustainable future, analysts said.

The center will not only provide a secure and reliable digital infrastructure for the corporation, but will also gradually become a major data center base for the country, said Jin Heping, China Three Gorges' chief information officer.

The center, with a total area of 100,000 square meters, will include five data buildings, one communication command structure and supporting transformer substations. The first phase, built with a total investment of more than 800 million yuan ($125.7 million), uses highly advanced technology and is one of China's leading low-carbon data centers.

Data centers have been challenged with high energy consumption in recent years. Electric power cost accounts for around 40 to 60 percent of the total cost of a data center.

A University of California study says these numbers are expected to grow substantially with the increased use of artificial intelligence and the internet of things, the network of devices, vehicles and other objects that contain software or sensors that allow them to connect and exchange data.

However, the Dongyuemiao data center, located near the Three Gorges Dam, uses green and low-carbon hydropower, which will not only lower the cost of the power but also significantly reduce pollution.

Hydropower is considered more stable than other sources of renewable energy, and regions with abundant hydropower sources can become key players, said Luo Zuoxian, head of intelligence and research at the Sinopec Economics and Development Research Institute.

The first phase of the data center, where construction started on Feb 20, has conquered all challenges including those created by COVID-19, and it started operating on time, according to China Three Gorges Corp.

It was the first major infrastructure construction project completed after the China Three Gorges Corp moved its headquarters from Beijing to Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, in September. The move was a way to accelerate the implementation of the Yangtze River Economic Belt national strategy and contribute to the epidemic-related economic recovery in Hubei, especially in Wuhan.

The company has been working to further develop hydropower. Its total installed power generation capacity had reached 101 million kilowatts as of Nov 8, after a group of large new energy projects had gone into operation. That included the fifth megawatt unit of the company's Baihetan Hydropower Station, which straddles Yunnan and Sichuan provinces and is second in output only to the world's largest, the Three Gorges Dam.

With nearly one-third of units in operation, the Baihetan Hydropower Station now boasts a total installed capacity of 16 million kW. All units will likely be operational by July 2022, and power generation will meet the annual electricity consumption needs of 500,000 people, the company said.

The company says clean energy accounts for about 96 percent of its total output, another step toward its goal of building a world-class clean energy group while contributing to the country's energy security amid a power crunch in some parts of the nation.

The company, with monthly generating capacity hitting a record high of 49.5 billion kilowatt-hours in September, meaning it contributed 6.7 percent to the country's total power production, has been advancing its new energy projects to ensure sufficient energy supply during this heating season, it said.