The first China-made 700,000-kw turbine generator began operating at the Three Gorges Dam on Tuesday.

The No. 26 turbine generator, made by Harbin Electric Machinery Co., went into operation at around 11 a.m. after passing a 72-hour trial period. The electricity will be transmitted to the state power grid to fuel energy-hungry areas in eastern China.

In trial operation, the 50-meter high, 7,000-ton super-large generator achieved its 756 MW capacity and the electricity met state power grid requirements, said officials attending the ceremony at which the generating unit was turned over to the Three Gorges Hydro-Power Plant.

"Successful operation of the No. 26 generator shows that China is able to design, manufacture, install and operate 700,000-kilowatt water turbine generators," said Yang Qing, deputy general manager of the China Yangtze Three Gorges Project Corporation (CTGPC).

"We have made breakthroughs in new hydro-turbine design and air-cooling, two key technologies in manufacturing turbine generators," Yang Qing said at the handover ceremony.

"The No. 26 turbine appears to be running more steadily than the other 15 generators mostly made by overseas companies. The air-cooling technology seems to be better than water-cooling technologies for generators," Yang added.