High profits
After last year's fatal landslide, the central and provincial authorities spent more than 5 billion yuan to reconstruct the county and recover its ecology.
However, the disaster did not stop the construction of many new hydroelectric plants. Even though most of the projects did not get the required security or environmental assessments, construction was still allowed. Local authorities and enterprises would not be deterred from pursuing huge profits, despite the threat of lethal environmental degradation.
Profit from hydropower stations can reach as high as coal power stations, according to Sun Chan, an analyst with Founder Securities. The gross profit of a hydropower station may reach 37 percent, only 2 percentage points lower than a coal power station, but much higher than that of a thermal power station, which is about 10 percent, according to Sun.
In addition, the profits earned by the hydropower industry are stable, said Sun.
Hydropower stations are like money-making machines, said Wang Jiangong, an official with the Zhouqu business promotion office. "A hydropower plant can recover its investment within 15 years. But it can be used for 70 years," added Wang.
Those profits also become an important source of local revenue. Zhouqu's 68 hydropower stations bring it 20 million yuan in revenue a year, according to CCTV.
But while hydropower stations bring huge profits to enterprises and add government revenue, nearby peasants must live in danger because of the damage to the environment, an environment that can not be easily recovered, said Sun Wenpeng, a geological expert.
