The Yebatan Hydropower Station. Photo: Courtesy of POWERCHINA Chengdu

The Yebatan Hydropower Station, a major project under China's 14th Five-Year Plan, officially began reservoir impoundment on Monday. This marks the official entry of China's highest-altitude concrete double curvature arch dam hydropower station under construction into the final push for the commissioning and power generation of its first batch of units.

Located at the junction of Baiyu County in southwest China's Province and Konjo County in the Xizang Autonomous Region, the Yebatan Hydropower Station, planned and designed by POWERCHINA Chengdu Engineering Corporation Limited (POWERCHINA Chengdu), is the largest hydropower station in the Sichuan-Xizang section of the upper Jinsha River. It is a major project in China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for energy development and it largely contributes to the country's west-east power transmission program.

The dam site sits at an altitude of approximately 3,000 meters, with a total installed capacity of 2.24 million kilowatts and a maximum dam height of 217 meters - roughly equivalent to a building over 70 stories high. As of now, some dam sections have been poured to the crest, electromechanical installations are substantially complete, and equipment commissioning is underway, according to POWERCHINA Chengdu.

The impoundment will be carried out in two stages, said the project team. The first stage will raise the water level to the dead storage elevation of 2,855 meters, creating conditions for the first generating units to enter service by the end of this year. The second stage, expected by October 2026, will bring the reservoir to its normal pool level of 2,889 meters, enabling greater coordinated operation among the cascade hydropower stations on the upper Jinsha River.

The project construction faces world-class technical challenges, including extreme cold, high altitude, the height of the dam, and steep slopes. After more than two decades of preliminary research and technological development, the project team said it has overcome a series of technical difficulties, such as temperature control for ultra-tall arch dams in extremely cold and high-altitude regions, and continuous winter construction. For the first time, through innovation, the construction team achieved uninterrupted, year‑round, high-quality concrete placement for a dam in China's high-altitude cold regions - without a single temperature crack.

Moreover, by optimizing the construction schedule and reservoir-filling plan, designers shortened the period from diversion tunnel closure to first-unit generation from eight months (as estimated in the feasibility study) to three months, laying a solid foundation for earlier power generation, said the project team.

Once fully commissioned, the Yebatan Hydropower Station is expected to generate about 10.2 billion kilowatt-hours annually, equivalent to reducing coal consumption by nearly 4 million tonnes, and cutting CO2 emissions by approximately 7.37 million tonnes per year. The project holds great importance for optimizing China's energy mix and promoting local economic and social development, said POWERCHINA Chengdu.

The Yebatan Hydropower Station. Photo: Courtesy of POWERCHINA Chengdu

Global Times