Hydro Power Development at the Yalu Tsangpo River

2002, Volume 4, Issue 12

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Strategic Study of CAE >> 2002, Volume 4, Issue 12

Hydro Power Development at the Yalu Tsangpo River

1. China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Co. LTD , Shenzhen , Guangdong 518031, China

2. Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research , Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100101, China

3. Harbin Power Equipment Group Co. LTD, Harbin 150040, China

Received: 2002-07-24 Available online: 2002-12-20

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Abstract

As the largest river in Tibet, the Yalu Tsangpo River (hereinafter referred to as the river) is abundant in hydropower resources in the range of 113 GW. The river has a “U”-shaped elbow in the Great Gorge area to form an ideal site for a gigantic hydropower station of 40 GW——the largest in the world to date.With the foregoing background, this paper outlines a preliminary project program in this regard. In the opinion of the present author, the mountain should be tunneled at an appropriate point to form a massive hydraulic head of 2280 m. The entire project will be divided into three phases with 12～15 GW implemented at each stage.The electrical output of the first phase can be supplied to Southeast Asia and that of the subsequent phases to southeastern China (especially Guangdong Province). The cost estimated for the project is less than that of the Three Gorges project due primarily to the fact that there is no need to consider such factors as flood control, shipping rerouting and population resettlement, all of which translate into immediate economic benefits. Meanwhile, the project will set four straight world records, namely, the largest hydropower station, the largest generating unit, the highest waterfall and the largest gorge. As a result, the project is of immense significance to the sustainable development of Tibet and to China as a whole, and is also bound to exert tremendous international influence. Due to the complexities and size associated with the project, a huge number of difficulties and problems must be fully addressed beforehand. It is hoped that all the involved difficulties will be discussed and analyzed in-depth with a view to reaching scientific and practical conclusions for the project.

Keywords

the Yalu Tsangpo River ; hydropower ; development ; investment ; benefit

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