Hello everyone! I am the familiar hydropower, and I am very happy to share the story of our electricity family with you.

In 1831, British scientist Faraday discovered the phenomenon of electromagnetic induction and went on to invent the first human generator. When demonstrating his invention, a lady asked, “Mr. Faraday, what is the use of this thing?” Faraday replied, “Madam, what is the use of a newborn baby?” No one could have imagined that Faraday had flipped the switch that would illuminate the modern world, having such a profound impact on human society. From that day forward, humanity entered a new era of large-scale acquisition and use of electricity.

I have a very large and extraordinary family, and each member has their own legendary story. Please allow me to introduce my family members in detail.

1. Thermal Power (Big Brother)

In 1875, the first thermal power station was established near the North Station in Paris, France, converting thermal energy into electrical energy for power generation. This thermal power plant installed a DC generator to provide lighting power nearby. Subsequently, the United States, Russia, and the United Kingdom also built thermal power plants. After the 1930s, thermal power entered a period of great development. The capacity of thermal power units increased from 200MWto 300-600MW(mid-1950s), and by 1973, the largest thermal power unit reached 1.3GW. Large units and large power plants greatly improved the thermal efficiency of thermal power generation, and the construction investment and power generation costs per kilowatt continued to decrease. By the late 1980s, the world’s largest thermal power plant was Japan’s Kagoshima thermal power plant, with a capacity of 4.4GW. However, excessively large units brought issues of reduced reliability and availability, so by the early 1990s, the single-unit capacity of thermal power stabilized at 300-700GW. To this day, thermal power stations still account for the largest proportion among various types of power stations, and thermal power has become recognized as the eldest son of the electricity family.

2. Hydropower (Myself)

As hydropower, I am the second son of the family, second only to thermal power in terms of birth time and development scale. I convert water energy into electrical energy, belonging to secondary energy. The exact time and place of my birth are controversial and somewhat complicated. Some say the Appleton Hydropower Station on the Fox River in Wisconsin, built in 1882, is the world’s first hydropower station, while others point to the 1878 hydropower project built by William George Armstrong in Cragside, Northumberland, to power a single arc lamp in his art gallery. Additionally, in 1881, the first powerhouse of the Schoellkopf Hydropower Station on the American side of Niagara Falls began generating electricity. Different authorities have different definitions and interpretations of the title of the world’s first hydropower station, making it a matter of opinion. By 1886, the United States and Canada had 45 hydropower stations generating electricity, and just three years later, the number of hydropower plants in the United States reached 200. After the 1930s, the number and installed capacity of hydropower stations grew significantly. By the late 1980s, some industrialized countries like Switzerland and France had almost fully developed their hydropower resources. In 1912, China’s first hydropower station, Shilongba Hydropower Station, was built in the suburbs of Kunming, Yunnan Province. After more than 100 years of development, China’s hydropower capacity has nearly reached 420GW, far ahead of other countries, with China accounting for half of the world’s top ten power stations by installed capacity.

3. Nuclear Power (Third Brother)

Our third brother is nuclear power. The growth of nuclear power can be roughly divided into three stages: 1954-1965 was the verification and demonstration stage of nuclear power plants. Calder Hall graphite gas-cooled reactor prototype nuclear power plant was the world’s first commercial nuclear power plant. The first generation of nuclear power plants was subsequently built in strong countries like the US and the Soviet Union, with 38 units put into operation globally during this period. 1966-1980 was the rapid development stage of nuclear power plants. More economical and safer second-generation nuclear power plants became an important energy source in the industrialization process of Europe and the United States. Especially after the economic viability of US light water reactors was confirmed, there was a surge in nuclear power plant construction, with 242 nuclear power units put into operation worldwide, and countries like Germany, Japan, and Brazil also joined in nuclear power development. 1981-2000 was the slow development stage of nuclear power plants. After the oil crisis, the slowdown in developed countries’ economies led to a decline in electricity demand, combined with public resistance due to the 1979 Three Mile Island accident in the US and the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear leak in the Soviet Union, significantly slowing global nuclear power development. Entering the 21st century, with increasing global energy constraints and greenhouse gas emission reduction pressures, coupled with advances in nuclear power technology’s safety and economics, nuclear power has regained favor. Many countries have begun actively developing new nuclear power plans. At the end of 1991, China’s first independently designed and constructed Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant successfully connected to the grid, ending China’s history of no nuclear power. Currently, China’s independently developed third-generation nuclear power technology, Hualong One, has been put into commercial operation and exported, with the fourth-generation high-temperature gas-cooled reactor demonstration project successfully connected to the grid. The future star of nuclear power is fusion reactors, with China’s independently researched nuclear fusion experimental device “artificial sun” achieving a major breakthrough by operating at over 100 million degrees Celsius for more than 100 seconds. After more than 40 years of hard work, China’s nuclear power has transitioned from a follower to a peer, and in some aspects, a leader in nuclear power technology.

4. Wind Power (Fourth Brother)

The concept of using wind power for electricity generation began with a Danish wind power project in 1890. By 1918, Denmark had 120 wind turbines. Before and after World War II, some European countries and the US built a batch of large wind turbines. Although wind power development in the context of global industrial history seems short, it has progressed rapidly with significant technological advancements. By the end of 2021, the total global wind power installed capacity reached 837GW, with China ranking first, having an installed capacity of 338GW, accounting for 40.40% of the world’s total; the US wind power installed capacity isGW, accounting for 16.05%.

5. Solar Power (Fifth Brother)

Solar energy is one of the earliest energy sources used by humans and is currently the fastest-growing renewable energy. Solar power generation mainly includes photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal power generation. Photovoltaic power generation uses the photoelectric effect to produce electricity, while solar thermal power generation uses thermodynamic principles to produce electricity. PV is currently more widely used. By the end of 2022, the global solar power installed capacity exceeded 1TW, with China’s solar power installed capacity over 390GW.

6. Other Members

Other members of our electricity family include tidal power, wave power, geothermal power, ocean thermal energy conversion, biogas power, and biomass power. Some members are actually our descendants, such as tidal and wave power, which should be classified under hydropower, and biogas and biomass power, which belong to thermal power. I will find opportunities to introduce these younger family members in detail later.

Since the birth of our electric family, after more than 100 years of development and transformation, each member can be said to have weathered many storms and also shaped different personalities. To encourage unity and love, our parents connected us brothers with a net (the power grid), urging us to work together and serve humanity. As the eldest son of the family, thermal power has unshirkably taken on the main task, providing over 60% of China’s electricity. The main issue with the eldest brother is his heavy breathing, emitting too much carbon dioxide while generating electricity, which affects the global climate and has raised human awareness. In recent years, the primary measure proposed for carbon reduction is to cut down on thermal power’s scale. Watching the eldest brother gradually age, we are all anxious and feel it is our duty and mission to share his burden.

As hydropower, my scale and size are second only to the eldest brother, thermal power. Although called hydropower, I actually do not consume water, nor do I emit anything during operation; I simply use the gravitational potential energy of water to generate a continuous supply of electricity. Hydropower units are very flexible in starting and stopping, capable of peak shaving, valley filling, frequency regulation, and phase modulation for other brothers. Pumped-storage power stations can even store excess electricity generated by other brothers as potential energy. Unlike the eldest brother, my construction locations are constrained by resource distribution, but with the connection of the large power grid, these issues are well mitigated. Although I uphold the principles of unity, brotherhood, and sharing family responsibilities, I have still faced some misunderstandings and unfair treatment. Some accuse me of destroying the ecology, and others say I change the climate. In fact, where I operate, the mountains and waters are clear and beautiful. There are numerous cases of me restoring the ecology. Many misunderstandings do not need explanations; time will tell.

Coincidentally, our third brother, nuclear power, has lived in controversy since birth, mainly due to safety and nuclear waste disposal issues. I want to say that under the premise of safe operation, nuclear power is high-quality energy. Through coordinated development with clean energies like hydro, wind, and solar power, nuclear power plays an important role in optimizing the overall energy layout and ensuring energy supply.

The advantages of our fourth brother (wind power) and fifth brother (solar power) lie in their vast potential, wide distribution, renewability, and non-pollution. However, their disadvantages are low energy density, instability, and significant regional differences. As hydropower, I have the ability and willingness to regulate them. Biomass power generation, combining the stability and reliability of thermal power generation with the environmental advantages of renewable resource power generation, is increasingly valued by humans. Biomass power generation includes direct combustion of agricultural and forestry waste, gasification power generation of agricultural and forestry waste, waste incineration power generation, landfill gas power generation, and biogas power generation. In China alone, the annual exploitable biomass energy is equivalent to 1.17 billion tons of standard coal, showing considerable development potential. However, biomass power generation also has high requirements for the collection and transportation of biomass materials, significant impacts on land, water resources, and air quality, and immature technology.

In the journey to achieve the “dual carbon goals”, we cannot do without the unity and cooperation of our family brothers. Balancing carbon emission control with energy development safety, coordinating near-term peak carbon goals with long-term carbon neutrality goals, and gradually redistributing family responsibilities are the keys to maintaining the harmony and joy of our family.

In 1831, British scientist Faraday discovered the phenomenon of electromagnetic induction and went on to invent the first human generator. When demonstrating his invention, a lady asked, “Mr. Faraday, what is the use of this thing?” Faraday replied, “Madam, what is the use of a newborn baby?” No one could have imagined that Faraday had flipped the switch that would illuminate the modern world, having such a profound impact on human society. From that day forward, humanity entered a new era of large-scale acquisition and use of electricity.

I have a very large and extraordinary family, and each member has their own legendary story. Please allow me to introduce my family members in detail.

1. Thermal Power (Big Brother)

In 1875, the first thermal power station was established near the North Station in Paris, France, converting thermal energy into electrical energy for power generation. This thermal power plant installed a DC generator to provide lighting power nearby. Subsequently, the United States, Russia, and the United Kingdom also built thermal power plants. After the 1930s, thermal power entered a period of great development. The capacity of thermal power units increased from 200MWto 300-600MW(mid-1950s), and by 1973, the largest thermal power unit reached 1.3GW. Large units and large power plants greatly improved the thermal efficiency of thermal power generation, and the construction investment and power generation costs per kilowatt continued to decrease. By the late 1980s, the world’s largest thermal power plant was Japan’s Kagoshima thermal power plant, with a capacity of 4.4GW. However, excessively large units brought issues of reduced reliability and availability, so by the early 1990s, the single-unit capacity of thermal power stabilized at 300-700GW. To this day, thermal power stations still account for the largest proportion among various types of power stations, and thermal power has become recognized as the eldest son of the electricity family.

2. Hydropower (Myself)

As hydropower, I am the second son of the family, second only to thermal power in terms of birth time and development scale. I convert water energy into electrical energy, belonging to secondary energy. The exact time and place of my birth are controversial and somewhat complicated. Some say the Appleton Hydropower Station on the Fox River in Wisconsin, built in 1882, is the world’s first hydropower station, while others point to the 1878 hydropower project built by William George Armstrong in Cragside, Northumberland, to power a single arc lamp in his art gallery. Additionally, in 1881, the first powerhouse of the Schoellkopf Hydropower Station on the American side of Niagara Falls began generating electricity. Different authorities have different definitions and interpretations of the title of the world’s first hydropower station, making it a matter of opinion. By 1886, the United States and Canada had 45 hydropower stations generating electricity, and just three years later, the number of hydropower plants in the United States reached 200. After the 1930s, the number and installed capacity of hydropower stations grew significantly. By the late 1980s, some industrialized countries like Switzerland and France had almost fully developed their hydropower resources. In 1912, China’s first hydropower station, Shilongba Hydropower Station, was built in the suburbs of Kunming, Yunnan Province. After more than 100 years of development, China’s hydropower capacity has nearly reached 420GW, far ahead of other countries, with China accounting for half of the world’s top ten power stations by installed capacity.

3. Nuclear Power (Third Brother)

Our third brother is nuclear power. The growth of nuclear power can be roughly divided into three stages: 1954-1965 was the verification and demonstration stage of nuclear power plants. Calder Hall graphite gas-cooled reactor prototype nuclear power plant was the world’s first commercial nuclear power plant. The first generation of nuclear power plants was subsequently built in strong countries like the US and the Soviet Union, with 38 units put into operation globally during this period. 1966-1980 was the rapid development stage of nuclear power plants. More economical and safer second-generation nuclear power plants became an important energy source in the industrialization process of Europe and the United States. Especially after the economic viability of US light water reactors was confirmed, there was a surge in nuclear power plant construction, with 242 nuclear power units put into operation worldwide, and countries like Germany, Japan, and Brazil also joined in nuclear power development. 1981-2000 was the slow development stage of nuclear power plants. After the oil crisis, the slowdown in developed countries’ economies led to a decline in electricity demand, combined with public resistance due to the 1979 Three Mile Island accident in the US and the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear leak in the Soviet Union, significantly slowing global nuclear power development. Entering the 21st century, with increasing global energy constraints and greenhouse gas emission reduction pressures, coupled with advances in nuclear power technology’s safety and economics, nuclear power has regained favor. Many countries have begun actively developing new nuclear power plans. At the end of 1991, China’s first independently designed and constructed Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant successfully connected to the grid, ending China’s history of no nuclear power. Currently, China’s independently developed third-generation nuclear power technology, Hualong One, has been put into commercial operation and exported, with the fourth-generation high-temperature gas-cooled reactor demonstration project successfully connected to the grid. The future star of nuclear power is fusion reactors, with China’s independently researched nuclear fusion experimental device “artificial sun” achieving a major breakthrough by operating at over 100 million degrees Celsius for more than 100 seconds. After more than 40 years of hard work, China’s nuclear power has transitioned from a follower to a peer, and in some aspects, a leader in nuclear power technology.

4. Wind Power (Fourth Brother)

The concept of using wind power for electricity generation began with a Danish wind power project in 1890. By 1918, Denmark had 120 wind turbines. Before and after World War II, some European countries and the US built a batch of large wind turbines. Although wind power development in the context of global industrial history seems short, it has progressed rapidly with significant technological advancements. By the end of 2021, the total global wind power installed capacity reached 837GW, with China ranking first, having an installed capacity of 338GW, accounting for 40.40% of the world’s total; the US wind power installed capacity isGW, accounting for 16.05%.

5. Solar Power (Fifth Brother)

Solar energy is one of the earliest energy sources used by humans and is currently the fastest-growing renewable energy. Solar power generation mainly includes photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal power generation. Photovoltaic power generation uses the photoelectric effect to produce electricity, while solar thermal power generation uses thermodynamic principles to produce electricity. PV is currently more widely used. By the end of 2022, the global solar power installed capacity exceeded 1TW, with China’s solar power installed capacity over 390GW.

6. Other Members

Other members of our electricity family include tidal power, wave power, geothermal power, ocean thermal energy conversion, biogas power, and biomass power. Some members are actually our descendants, such as tidal and wave power, which should be classified under hydropower, and biogas and biomass power, which belong to thermal power. I will find opportunities to introduce these younger family members in detail later.

Since the birth of our electric family, after more than 100 years of development and transformation, each member can be said to have weathered many storms and also shaped different personalities. To encourage unity and love, our parents connected us brothers with a net (the power grid), urging us to work together and serve humanity. As the eldest son of the family, thermal power has unshirkably taken on the main task, providing over 60% of China’s electricity. The main issue with the eldest brother is his heavy breathing, emitting too much carbon dioxide while generating electricity, which affects the global climate and has raised human awareness. In recent years, the primary measure proposed for carbon reduction is to cut down on thermal power’s scale. Watching the eldest brother gradually age, we are all anxious and feel it is our duty and mission to share his burden.

As hydropower, my scale and size are second only to the eldest brother, thermal power. Although called hydropower, I actually do not consume water, nor do I emit anything during operation; I simply use the gravitational potential energy of water to generate a continuous supply of electricity. Hydropower units are very flexible in starting and stopping, capable of peak shaving, valley filling, frequency regulation, and phase modulation for other brothers. Pumped-storage power stations can even store excess electricity generated by other brothers as potential energy. Unlike the eldest brother, my construction locations are constrained by resource distribution, but with the connection of the large power grid, these issues are well mitigated. Although I uphold the principles of unity, brotherhood, and sharing family responsibilities, I have still faced some misunderstandings and unfair treatment. Some accuse me of destroying the ecology, and others say I change the climate. In fact, where I operate, the mountains and waters are clear and beautiful. There are numerous cases of me restoring the ecology. Many misunderstandings do not need explanations; time will tell.

Coincidentally, our third brother, nuclear power, has lived in controversy since birth, mainly due to safety and nuclear waste disposal issues. I want to say that under the premise of safe operation, nuclear power is high-quality energy. Through coordinated development with clean energies like hydro, wind, and solar power, nuclear power plays an important role in optimizing the overall energy layout and ensuring energy supply.

The advantages of our fourth brother (wind power) and fifth brother (solar power) lie in their vast potential, wide distribution, renewability, and non-pollution. However, their disadvantages are low energy density, instability, and significant regional differences. As hydropower, I have the ability and willingness to regulate them. Biomass power generation, combining the stability and reliability of thermal power generation with the environmental advantages of renewable resource power generation, is increasingly valued by humans. Biomass power generation includes direct combustion of agricultural and forestry waste, gasification power generation of agricultural and forestry waste, waste incineration power generation, landfill gas power generation, and biogas power generation. In China alone, the annual exploitable biomass energy is equivalent to 1.17 billion tons of standard coal, showing considerable development potential. However, biomass power generation also has high requirements for the collection and transportation of biomass materials, significant impacts on land, water resources, and air quality, and immature technology.

In the journey to achieve the “dual carbon goals”, we cannot do without the unity and cooperation of our family brothers. Balancing carbon emission control with energy development safety, coordinating near-term peak carbon goals with long-term carbon neutrality goals, and gradually redistributing family responsibilities are the keys to maintaining the harmony and joy of our family.