Published: 6:00am, 26 Dec 2024
China has approved the construction of a colossal hydropower project on Tibet’s longest river that could generate three times more energy than the
, state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday.
The mega
project, set to be built on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in
, presents unprecedented engineering challenges.
Total investment in the dam could exceed 1 trillion yuan (US$137 billion), which would dwarf any other single
project on the planet.
The report did not specify when construction would begin, or where it would take place.
The Yarlung Tsangpo flows across the Tibetan Plateau, carving out the deepest canyon on Earth and falling a staggering 7,667 metres (25,154 feet), before reaching India, where it is known as the Brahmaputra River.
The dam will be built in one of the rainiest parts of mainland China.
The
is expected to generate nearly 300 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually. By contrast, the Three Gorges Dam, which now has the world’s largest installed capacity, was designed to produce 88.2 billion kWh.
In 2020, Yan Zhiyong, then chairman of state-owned Power Construction Corporation of China, said the location on the Yarlung Tsangpo was one of the most hydropower-rich areas in the world.
“The lower reaches area features a vertical drop of 2,000 metres over a 50km (31 miles) distance, representing nearly 70 million kilowatts of resources that could be developed – that is more than three Three Gorges Dams with an installed capacity of 22.5 million kilowatts,” he said.
To harness the hydropower potential of the river, four to six 20km-long tunnels must be drilled through the Namcha Barwa mountain to divert half of the river’s flow at about 2,000 cubic metres per second.
Additionally, the project site is located along a tectonic plate boundary where earthquakes may occur, and the geology of the plateau differs significantly from that of the plains.
According to a 2023 report, the hydropower station is expected to generate over 300 billion kWh of electricity each year – enough to meet the annual needs of more than 300 million people.
Xinhua said the hydropower project would prioritise environmental protection.
“Through extensive geological exploration and technical advancements, a solid foundation has been laid for the science-based, secure and high-quality development of the project,” it said.
The dam would also drive the development of nearby solar and wind energy resources, adding to the region’s clean energy base, Xinhua reported.
“This represents a major move in China’s green and low-carbon energy transition,” the report said.
“It is also of great importance to advancing the country’s strategy for carbon peaking and carbon neutrality and to coping with global climate change.”
Beijing first announced plans to build the dam in 2020, raising concerns in India about its impact on the country’s water and food security. Some also worry that China could weaponise water by using it to cause floods or induce droughts.
However, a 2023 study by scientists at Tsinghua University’s department of hydraulic engineering said the project could benefit China, India and Bangladesh if the countries were to cooperate.
The researchers said reservoir storage could increase the minimum water flow during the dry season and add one to four navigable months per year for the Indian portion of the river.
Using reservoir storage to manage flood peaks can reduce flood-affected areas by as much as 32.6 per cent in India and 14.8 per cent in Bangladesh, according to the study.
“The construction of [a] mainstream cascade hydropower system with reservoir storage would have enormous benefits for hydropower development, waterway navigation and agricultural production in the Yarlung Tsangpo-Brahmaputra River basin,” they wrote in the peer-reviewed Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies.
