PART I: Master Projects of China - Baihetan Hydro Power Station

Some days ago a hydropower station based in China and called the “Baihetan-dam”, started operation and is now using water and gravity to generate electric energy that can be used to supply the inhabitants of China with green energy. Also, some political interests are supporting the Baihetan Hydro project and using it as a demonstration of power to show how China develops new and eco-friendly technologies.

The Baihetan hydropower station - What it is and how it works

Since China set itself the goal of becoming carbon dioxide neutral by 2060, a lot of power stations that are using green (renewable) forms of energy are building or in the construction process. An energy form that China can use very effectively is water power which comes through the big number of lakes and rivers that are flowing through different kinds of heights. The key is the combination of a lot of water and heights to let gravity transform the energy in a power station usable form. According to this principle the Baihetan dam was constructed and built. The Baihetan power station is located in the Chinese provinces Sichuan and Yunnan and uses a lake called Jinsha Jiang for water supply. The dam is 289 meters high and has a crown length (length of the curved wall) of 728 meters. Every turbine can serve a power of 1.000 MW which means at the moment 2.000 MW with 2 active turbines and later on 16.000 MW with all 16 turbines being active. This amount of energy would be enough to supply 500.000 humans with electricity for one year. The dam has a maximum water capacity of 17.924 million m³, to store the water as long as it flows through the turbines that are connected with an electric generator, to generate electric energy. The maximum capacity of the Baihetan power station is also the third biggest in China and the fourth biggest in the world. The power station is connected to an ultra high voltage power network to supply provinces in the densely populated east of China with green energy.

The long way to the completion of the Baihetan hydropower station

In the history of the Baihetan hydro project you can find a lot of complex difficulties the architectures from “China Three Gorges Corporation”, the project realizer company, have to manage. The planning and construction process started in 2008 and now July 2021 the building is partly finished and can operate for the first time. At the moment only 2 of the 16 turbines are active and the others are still in the construction process. The completion of all turbines is planned for July 2022. Even the fact that the project took over a decade to be constructed and only runs the first time some days ago, can’t hide the success of the power station and its gigantic dimension as a demonstration of the technological progress China made in the last years. The calculating team of the Baihetan hydropower power station are expecting a good development, so it’s realistic that the power station will be completed in July 2022 as planned.

The secret losers of the Baihetan hydro project

Although the Baihetan hydropower station brings China and its people a source for renewable energy, the project has some critical aspects coming across with it that are pushed into the background to protect the propaganda strategy. For example, the power station is located in a region where earthquakes are a common problem. Furthermore, the power station destroyed the environment for many different species of animals and plants, which are partly endangered. A lot of scientific experts criticized China for the power station project, because of the environmental problems the building leads to. Also, the thousands of inhabitants had to move away and leave their homes behind to make space for the giant power station. Some sources are estimating the number on ca. 67.000 humans others to hundreds of thousands. Information about whether structured resettlement is planned or not and if, how it will be organized, are undetectable.

The motivation behind it - green energy as a political strategy of power demonstration?

It’s clear to see and an important part of the propaganda that the first two turbines started operating on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of China's Communist Party that also represents the whole government. The Chinese president Xi Jinping congratulated the constructors, architects and workers for this huge leap on the way to eco-friendly energy generation. He also talked about the goal to make China carbon dioxide neutral by 2060 and said that the Baihetan hydropower station shows off how much effort China puts into the development and realization of power stations that are only using renewable energy sources. He also smoothly indicates that the power station demonstrates China’s technological progress, which continues even after the economic setback after the first lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, it shows how far China will go in the future and that the Baihetan hydropower station won’t be the last of its kind. It’s just another milestone in the history of China’s rise, which should surprise no one. It’s really important to know that the Baihetan hydropower station isn’t just a pure demonstration of power. It represents much more. The Bhutan hydropower station is the deputy for the technological, economical, innovative, regional, national and political progress China made in the last decades.

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