The largest hydropower station on Lancang River in Southwest China's Yunnan Province -  known as the Mekong River in Southeast Asia - went into operation Thursday with its first power generating unit up and running.

The Nuozhadu hydroelectric station, located in the city of Pu'er, is China's fourth largest of its kind. It will be installed with nine same-size generating units with a total capacity of 5.85 gigawatts.

All the units will be put into operation by 2014, thus enabling the station to generate 23.9 billion kilowatts per hour of electricity on average each year.

By churning out clean energy, the station will help save 9.6 million tons of standard coal and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 18.8 million tons each year.

The dam of the Nuozhadu station is 261.5 meters high, the highest in Asia and the world's third highest.

As one of the seven planned hydropower projects on Lancang River inside China, the station will increase the electricity supply and optimize the energy mix and also help flood control and water use downstream, said Yunnan governor Li Jiheng.