(Yicai Global) July 8 -- China's Yalong River Hydropower Development, also known as Yalong Hydro, has begun building the Kela Solar Power Station which is expected to become the world's largest facility involving a combination of water power and solar power.

Construction of the CNY5.3 billion (USD791 million) PV station in Sichuan province began today, The Paper reported. The station is located close to the new Lianghekou hydropower project, situated on the Yalong River.

For the first time, a hydro-PV power project will reach a megawatt level, said Li Sheng, executive vice president of the China Renewable Energy Engineering Institute. The undertaking provides a good demonstration for future investment and construction of similar projects, Li added.

The two types of green energy can complement each other. Seasonal fluctuations of hydropower can be balanced with solar power and vice versa. The generated PV power will be delivered to the water power station.

The massive Kela project is in a high-altitude area. The altitude is from 4,000 to 4,600 meters. The planned capacity is 1,000 megawatts and the annual average power generation could reach two billion kilowatt-hours. The project is expected to be connected to the grid next year.

The Lianghekou project was completed and put into operation in March. It has a total capacity of 3,000 megawatts.

The two above-mentioned projects are the first step of the upcoming renewable energy base of the Yalong River basin. The total scale should exceed 80 million kilowatts, including about 30 million kilowatts of hydropower, over 40 million kilowatts of wind and PV energy, and over 10 million kilowatts of pumped storage hydropower.

Yalong Hydro is behind both of the projects. The company is a joint venture between State Development and Investment and Sichuan Provincial Investment Group. The state-owned investing arm has a 52 percent stake in the JV and the provincial company has the remainder.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi