China's hydropower company plans first drift area on Brahmaputra

A dam in the Great Bend will cause renewed concern given its location along the border with Arunachal Pradesh.



China (Natural Energy News): The project marks a new phase in river exploitation with potential implications for India.

According to Chinese media Chinese hydroelectric company to tie up the first downstream on the lower sweeps of the Brahmaputra River, or Yarlung Zangbo as it is known in Tibet, a new phase in China's hydropower Marks the Exploitation of the river with potential implications for India.


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A report by Chinese media said that state-owned hydroelectric company POWERCHINA signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Government of Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) last month "to implement hydropower exploitation in the flow of the Yarang Jung River" Were done. New Five Year Plan (2021-2025).

China operated its first hydroelectric project at Zangmu, Tibet, in 2015, while three other dams are being developed at Dagu, Jiaxu and Jiacha, which are on the upper and middle reaches of the river. The report states that this will be the first time that the river flow area will be exploited.

PowerChina president Yan Xihyong said at a conference of the China Society for Hydropower Engineering last week that "there is no parallel in history" and that the bottom of the river reached "a historic opportunity for the Chinese hydropower industry", the Communist Party - The Run Global Times newspaper reported.

The report does not mention the location of the planned downstream project of Powerchaina but quoted Mr Yan talking about the "Great Bend" of the Brahmaputra and the potential offered at the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon in Meadowg County, where The river plunges brilliantly to over 2,000 meters and turns rapidly to cross the border into Arunachal Pradesh.


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He said that this 50-km stretch alone has the capacity to develop 70 million kWh ", which is equivalent to more than three Gorge power stations". He said that "harnessing 60 million kWh of hydroelectricity in the Yarlung Zangbo River flow can provide 300 billion kWh of clean, renewable and zero-carbon electricity annually" and the project will "play a key role in reaching China's goal" of carbon before 2030 Emission peak and carbon neutrality in 2060 ”.

It is doubtful whether a specialized feasibility analysis for downstream dams will be authorized, as PowerChina is not the first hydroelectric company for downstream ambitious dams on Zangbo.

Chinese hydroelectric groups have long campaigned to start the "Great Bend", but the projects have yet to address problems over technical feasibility in the straight Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon.


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India has expressed concern to China over the four dams on the upper and middle reaches, although Indian officials have said that the dam is unlikely to affect the amount of Brahmaputra flow into India as they only produce electricity and water for the Brahmaputra Storage is not entirely dependent on upstream flow, an estimated 35% of its basin is in India.

A dam in Great Bend, if approved, would raise new concerns by considering its location downstream and crossing the border from Arunachal Pradesh.

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