The Three Gorges Dam may soon lose its title as the world’s largest hydroelectric dam if the planned Yarlung Zangbo Dam, which has a construction capacity three times greater, is built.
According to the Global Times, the Chinese government is set to develop a hydroelectric project on the Yarlung Zangbo River, one of the major rivers in the Tibetan Plateau that flows down to lower regions in India and Bangladesh. Once completed, this super dam could generate three times the electricity of the current Three Gorges Dam.
Yarlung Zangbo River.
Details about this mega-project were clearly outlined in the construction proposals of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) and the long-term objectives set forth for 2035, announced at the end of 2020.
Surveys indicate that the main stream of the Yarlung Zangbo River has the richest water resources in the Tibet Autonomous Region, Southwest China. It has a hydroelectric reserve of around 80 million kilowatt-hours (kWh), while the 50-kilometer stretch of the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon boasts up to 70 million kWh. Upon completion, the Yarlung Zangbo Dam could have an installed power system with a total capacity of up to 60,000 MW, nearly three times the 22,400 MW capacity of the Three Gorges Dam.
The Yarlung Zangbo River flows through both India and Bangladesh.
Chinese experts suggest that the hydroelectric exploitation downstream of the Yarlung Zangbo is not merely a power project; it also has implications for environmental concerns, national security, living standards, energy, and international cooperation. This new hydroelectric plant could generate an annual income of 20 billion Yuan (3 billion USD) for the Tibet Autonomous Region.
The Three Gorges Dam will become the second largest dam in the world if the Yarlung Zangbo Dam is completed.
Experts believe that the Yarlung Zangbo Dam, with its 60,000 MW capacity, could provide 300 billion kWh of clean, renewable, and carbon-free electricity annually. The project will play a crucial role in realizing China’s goal of reaching peak carbon emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.
However, the Yarlung Zangbo Dam project is not as straightforward as the Three Gorges Dam, which only flows through Chinese territory. The Yarlung Zangbo River becomes the Brahmaputra River when it flows into India and Bangladesh, raising concerns that it could threaten India’s water security, acting as a potential water bomb that could cause massive flooding in the event of a disaster or hoard water, leading to drought conditions downstream in India and Bangladesh.
