China Turns On , World’s Second-Biggest , Hydropower Dam.
China Turns On , World’s Second-Biggest , Hydropower Dam.
On June 28, the Chinese government announced that the first two generating units of the Baihetan Dam have been turned on.
The 954-foot-tall dam is located on the
Jinsha River, a tributary of the Yangtze,
in southwestern China.
The 954-foot-tall dam is located on the
Jinsha River, a tributary of the Yangtze,
in southwestern China.
It will have 16 generating units with a capacity of 1 million kilowatts each, .
making it the second-largest dam after the Three Gorges Dam, which was opened in 2003 on the Yangtze. .
Both dams were built by the world's biggest
investor in wind, solar and hydropower
generation, state-owned
Three Gorges Group Corp.
Despite hydropower losing support in other countries due to claims of flooding and ecology disruption, .
China is building more dams in an attempt to reduce its dependence on coal and imported oil and gas.
According to the official Xinhua News Agency, once the Baihetan Hydropower Station is fully operational, it should replace the need for 20 million tons of coal annually