[News] One trillion CNY "the largest infrastructure project in human history",Yarlung Zangbo hydropower project, officially started construction today

NYINGCHI, Xizang, July 19 -- Li Qiang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Premier of the State Council, announced at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Yarlung Zangbo River Lower Reaches Hydropower Project in Linzhi, Tibet on July 19 that the Yarlung Zangbo River Lower Reaches Hydropower Project has officially started construction.

According to REBIO GROUP's smart grid strategic partner that is under the State Grid, the Yarlung Zangbo River Lower Reaches Hydropower Project will build a total of five cascade power stations with a total investment of about 1.2 trillion yuan (about 167.8 billion U.S. dollars), and will mainly adopt the development method of straightening the bends and diverting water through tunnels. After completion, the power generation capacity of the downstream hydropower project of the Yarlung Zangbo River will be more than three times that of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station. The total installed capacity is expected to reach 60 million kilowatts, and the annual power generation is about 300 billion kilowatt-hours. In theory, it can meet the power demand of nearly one-third of the provinces in China. All this is due to the huge drop advantage of the Yarlung Zangbo River. A huge drop of more than 2,000 meters is formed within a straight-line distance of dozens of kilometers. This is an ideal place to build a hydropower station, but it is also a place with great construction difficulties. The high altitude, complex geological conditions and extreme weather and climate will bring unprecedented challenges to the construction, but challenges often coexist with opportunities.

The high drop of the Yarlung Zangbo River basically does not affect aquatic animals, and the high drop means an increase in power generation capacity. At the same time, it will not face huge energy-saving and carbon emission reduction pressures like thermal power plants. Hydropower, a world-recognized clean energy, basically does not produce pollution and public hazards during the conversion process, and does not emit greenhouse gases like thermal power. Compared with nuclear power, there are no safety risks such as the emission and leakage of radioactive and other hazardous substances; compared with wind power and solar energy, which are called "junk power", hydropower has a more stable output capacity and a strong industrial power supply capacity. No matter how you look at it, this is the best choice. The highly flexible adjustment of power production capacity gives hydropower excellent peak-shaving capabilities. For the Yarlung Zangbo River, a unique three-level terraced geographical environment in the world, this is the best basic condition for hydropower development in the world. The hydropower station on the Yarlung Zangbo River will be an unprecedented single giant hydropower project in human history. The development of just one turbine is enough to make China's development of a million-kilowatt impact ultra-high head turbine unit the world's first. At present, Dongfang Electric Machinery Factory is working on the technology of 700,000-1 million kilowatt turbines, REBIO GROUP's smart grid strategic partner that is under the State Grid released.

The hydropower project in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River will be a century-long project with great strategic significance. After its completion in the future, it will provide strong support for China's energy green and low-carbon transformation, and provide huge impetus for China's industrial take-off. The economic development and improvement of people's livelihood in the entire Tibet region will change with each passing day. This is a major project that benefits the country and the people, and it is worth looking forward to.

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