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China gifts itself biggest hydropower station in seismic zone
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IANS | 29 Jun, 2021
Monday was a big day for China and also the Communist Party of China
(CPC). The country operationalised the Baihetan Hydropower Station in
Southwest China, the largest hydropower project in the world.
The
CPC gave itself a mammoth gift on its 100th anniversary--the plant will
generate 1 million KW units. The State-managed newspaper Global Times
said: "... the breakthrough of this super project marks a new milestone
in the development of hydroelectricity in China, and also reflects the
advantages of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, under
the leadership of the CPC, in concentrating its efforts on major
projects."
Chinese President Xi Jinping too sent a congratulatory
letter. Highlighting that the plant will transfer power from western
China to the eastern part of the country, he said: "Socialism was
established through action, and the new era will be no different". He
added that the plant will help China achieve its targets for peak carbon
dioxide emissions and carbon neutrality.
China's stupendous
feats in dam engineering and water management give nightmares to
environmental groups, geologists and biologists. The multiple reasons
are environmental impacts, stability of structures as well as loss of
habitat.
India Narrative spoke with Dr Anjal Prakash, Research
Director at the Indian School of Business, to find out more. Dr Prakash
is the lead author in the IPCC's 6th Assessment Report which is
currently ongoing.
Dr Prakash says that China has constructed the
Baihetan Hydropower Station in the ecologically fragile Yunnan
province. "The dam is on the Jinsha River in the upper stench of the
mighty Yangtze River in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces. These provinces
are also seismically active. Just last month, an earthquake of 6.1
magnitude hit Yunnan province. Building such a high dam on seismically
and ecologically fragile regions is a recipe for disaster".
It is
surprising that China has undertaken the construction of big dams at a
time when such constructions are considered a pariah. Even global
funding is drying up for big dams owing to their environmental costs
which people and nature have to bear over a period of time. Big dams are
associated with mass displacement of people, loss of identity and
cultural heritage, habitat destruction and wiping out of endangered
species.
"In the wake of a rapidly changing climate which is
impacting water regimes around the world, building a high dam on Jinsha
River could also prove to bring in huge climate related risks. Due to
climatic changes, the patterns of rainfall have been changing. If there
is high rainfall in the upper reaches of the river basin, it may affect
the dam and could bring in huge stress", says Dr Prakash.
He adds
that big hydropower projects are increasingly becoming costlier and
this doesn't match with its advantages. "China is setting a very wrong
example for countries around the world by building such dams", says Dr
Prakash.
Chinese newspaper Global Times itself says: "... the
project had to overcome extremely difficult technical problems, such as
the fragile geology, the hot and dry wind in the valley, and the large
excavation work". These itself could become issues for the dam to
surmount in the future.
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