China to generate annual 300 bn kWh from world’s largest dam
Sopuruchi Onwuka, with agency reports
The Chinese government has approved the construction of a massive hydroelectric power plant over the world’s largest dam to be built over the sacred Yarlung Tsangpo River in the Tibet autonomous region.
When ready, the power plant is expected to generate three times as much energy as the one over Three Gorges Dam, currently the world’s largest hydropower project.
With its eye on the 2060 deadline to achieve net zero emissions, China has been working diligently to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. Interesting Engineering has previously reported on the multiple wind and solar energy projects that have started in recent months while also highlighting the push for nuclear power plants to generate carbon-free energy.
China’s ambitions in hydroelectric energy were evident as early as 2008 when the Three Gorges Dam, the world’s biggest dam, was completed. Power generation began in 2012 and currently supplies clean energy to over five million households every month.
However, China’s next project is so ambitious that its power generation capacity upon completion will be thrice that of the Three Gorges Dam plant.
China plans to build this mega hydropower project over the Yarlung Tsangpo River across the Tibetan plateau. The sacred river is home to the deepest canyon on the planet, with a vertical difference of 25,154 feet (7,667 meters). The Chinese government intends to use this to its advantage and generate nearly 300 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of hydropower from the project, sufficient to meet the energy needs of 300 million people every year.
The river’s lower reaches have a vertical drop of 6,561 feet (2,000 m) over 31 miles (50 km). This alone has the potential to generate 70 million kilowatts of power, authorities have previously said about the project site.
To harness this energy, though, will require China to drill 2.5 -12.5 mile (4-20 km) long tunnels in the Namcha Barwa mountain that will divert half the river’s flow at about 2,000 cubic meters per second.
The government has earmarked one trillion yuan (US$137 billion) for the project, making it the most ambitious single infrastructure project on the planet to date.
While risks are inherent in large-scale projects, this mega power project will be situated at a boundary of a tectonic plate, making it prone to earthquakes if they occur in the future. The geology is also unlike that of the plains making it a complicated project to execute.
The builders of the project plan to use data from extensive geological explorations and technological advances to ensure that construction is backed by science and is of the highest quality, a South China Morning Post report said.
The project will also be an opportunity to develop more wind and solar energy projects in the vicinity and add to China’s clean energy output. Additionally, ecological protection is also be prioritized, the SCMP report added.
A likely construction start date or details of the exact site of the project have not been disclosed yet.
