China aims to increase hydropower 50 per cent by 2015

The Chinese government has reportedly pledged to increase its hydroelectric power capacity 50 per cent by 2015 as it continues to accelerate efforts to boost its low-carbon energy supplies.

According to local reports, officials said they were aiming to increase hydropower capacity from 200 million kilowatts currently to 300 million kW by 2015.

The announcement came as China's largest hydropower station, the Xiaowan dam in Yunnan province, came online.

State-backed news agency Xinhua said that the $5.86bn (£3.79bn) facility will be able to generate 19 billion kilowatt hours of electricity each year.

China is already the world's largest producer of hydropower and the government reckons the hydroelectricity will play a critical role in it meeting its goal of reducing the economy's carbon intensity by 40 to 45 per cent by 2020.

However, the country's dam building programme remains highly controversial and countries on the lower stretches of the Mekong River, such as Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, are said to be concerned about the impact dams have had on water levels downstream.