China’s plan to build a $137 billion hydroelectric dam will break its own record for the world’s largest power station.
The country is already home to the current most powerful dam on the planet, The Three Gorges, located on the Yangtze River.
It’s reported to generate 0.54 Twh electricity a day, enough to power 5.4 million households for one whole month.
But it’s believed China’s new hydroelectric gravity dam – to be built along the bend of Tibet’s longest river, the Yarlung Zangbo – will one day generate three times the amount of energy.
That would total 300 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, according to a 2020 estimate by Power Construction Corp of China.
Experts have previously issued concerns about the environmental and political issues the huge new dam could pose.
How do hydroelectric gravity dams work?
Hydroelectric gravity dams generates electricity by harnessing the force of falling water under gravity.
Rivers release potential energy – stored energy that depends upon the relative position of various parts of a system – in the form of both kinetic energy and sound.
As Arrow.com explains, dams ‘halt this kinetic energy release and effectively store a river’s potential energy in a lake-like reservoir.’
The depth and velocity of water creates a hydraulic head as it travels through the dam’s gate valve, which then enables the turbine in the hydroelectric plant to spin.
“Large turbines, such as the Francis turbines in Three Gorges and many other hydroelectric dams, also require more energy to accelerate their movement,” the outlet explains.
As the turbine spins, the hydraulic head converts into kinetic energy, taking away the water’s velocity and pressure.
This allows it to flow out slowly from the base of the dam.
“The turbine’s rotational motion then generates electrical energy,” Arrow.com continues. “Turbines are coupled with electrical generators either directly or via a gearbox or transmission that spins the shaft and the generator’s armature.
“Generated electricity quickly transforms into grid-level voltages, which the local power company then transmits via power lines.”
Why are experts so concerned?
Experts have expressed a number of environmental and political concerns over the new dam.
For starters, it’ll be located along a tectonic plate boundary prone to earthquakes, while scientists are worried drilling into the Namcha Barwa mountain could trigger landslides.
The megaproject will also divert the flow of the Yarlung river through India and Bangladesh, potentially triggering flash foods or droughts.
Additionally, a 2020 report published by the Lowy Institute said that ‘control over these rivers [in the Tibetan Plateau] effectively gives China a chokehold on India’s economy’.
Finally, the construction of the dam could displace locals, although it’s not known how many people the project would be forced to relocate.
But Chinese state media says the project is a ‘safe project prioritising ecological protection,’ as per the BBC.
Scientists had similar concerns over the Three Gorges Dam.
The power plant is so strong, it’s actually slowing down the Earth’s rotation, consequently making our days 0.06 microseconds longer.
Bear in mind, Yarlung is set to be three times as powerful…
