1/ Completed over twenty-one years (1994-2015) out of more than 28 million cubic meters of concrete and 463,000 tons of steel, the 185 meter tall Three Gorges Dam is today the largest hydroelectric dam on earth. Immediately after the first filling of the reservoir, around 80 hairline cracks were observed in the dam's structure,[144][145][146] however an experts group gave the project overall a good quality rating[147] and the 163,000 concrete units all passed quality testing, with normal "deformation" within design limits. [41] By the end of 2008, spending had reached 148.365 billion yuan, among which 64.613 billion yuan was spent on construction, 68.557 billion yuan on relocating affected residents, and 15.195 billion yuan on financing. This accelerated after the 1998 Yangtze River floods convinced the government that it should restore tree cover, especially in the Yangtze's basin upstream of the Three Gorges Dam.[92]. Model of the Three Gorges Dam looking upstream, showing the dam body (middle left), the spillway (middle of the dam body) and the ship lift (to the right). The original plans called for the dam to employ a unique method for moving ships: the ships would enter locks located at the lower and upper ends of the dam and then cranes would move the ships from one lock to the next. [94] Freshwater fish are especially affected by dams due to changes in the water temperature and flow regime. The flow rate varies between 600–950 cubic metres per second (21,000–34,000 cu ft/s) depending on the head available. [90], The dam catalyzed improved upstream wastewater treatment around Chongqing and its suburban areas. A sudden collapse of the dam could release a wall of water over a hundred feet high with 400 million people living in the valley downstream. In 2012, the dam's 32 generating units generated a record 98.1 TWh of electricity, which accounts for 14% of China's total hydro generation. Most of the generators are water-cooled. [84] One is that sedimentation projections are not agreed upon, and the other is that the dam sits on a seismic fault. Full cost recovery was thus expected to occur ten years after the dam started full operation,[41] but the full cost of the Three Gorges Dam was recovered by December 20, 2013. ", "NASA Details Earthquake Effects on the Earth", "39.1931, 1935, 1954, 1998 年长江流域发生的4次大洪水造成了怎样的洪水灾害?? Up Next. [98] The dam contributed to the functional extinction of the baiji Yangtze river dolphin. Each of them is made up of five stages, with transit time at around four hours. Stand up to power, stand up to the establishment, and join us in the fight against the mainstream media! THREE GORGES DAM COLLAPSE - FAILED DAMS UPSTREAM OF 3GD. [30] Some exploration, survey, economic study, and design work was done, but the government, in the midst of the Chinese Civil War, halted work in 1947. From 2004 to 2007, a total of 198 million tonnes of freight passed through the locks. The flood covered Wuhan, a city of eight million people, for over three months, and the Jingguang Railway was out of service for more than 100 days. [8][9], The dam body was completed in 2006. The Three Gorges Dam has been the world's largest power station in terms of installed capacity (22,500 MW) since 2012. Though the "distortion" later proved to be caused by low resolution of the image, the "deformation and collapse prediction" continued to circulate. [124] The report said the towers had reached 189 m (620 ft) of the anticipated 195 m (640 ft), the towers would be completed by June 2012 and the entire shiplift in 2015. Watch later. The problem is that China once claimed the dam would withstand a 10,000 year flood, then a 1,000 year flood and now only a 100 year flood. Concerns over the integrity of the Three Gorges Dam are mounting after a video went viral simulating the destruction that could happen if the dam were to collapse. [96] Other aquatic species have been endangered by the dam, particularly the baiji, or Chinese river dolphin,[85] now extinct. Full power (9,800 MW) was only reached on October 18, 2006, after the water level reached 156 m.[49], The 12 south side main generators are also in operation. Three Gorges Dam sets new annual power generation record for 2020 International Water Power and Dam Construction 11:25 4-Jan-21. On July 18, 2020, the Chinese state-run press agency Xinhua News Agency stated that "the monitoring records of the Three Gorges Project's operation department showed that the average values of the main parameters such as dam displacement, seepage, and deformation were within the normal range, and the safety indicators of the dam's water retaining structure were stable. The generator produces electrical power at 20 kV. [5][6] The dam generates an average 95±20 TWh of electricity per year, depending on annual amount of precipitation in the river basin. That is a significant change from the 13,000 km2 (5,000 sq mi) net loss of forest each year in the 1990s. [128] As of June 2008, China relocated 1.24 million residents (ending with Gaoyang in Hubei Province) as 13 cities, 140 towns and 1350 villages either flooded or were partially flooded by the reservoir,[129][130][131] about 1.5% of the province's 60.3 million and Chongqing Municipality's 31.44 million population. In addition, populations of the Yangtze sturgeon are guaranteed to be "negatively affected" by the dam. It contains 39.3 km3 (31,900,000 acre⋅ft) of water and has a total surface area of 1,045 km2 (403 sq mi). [32][33] Construction started on December 14, 1994. By providing flood storage space, the dam reduces the potential for floods downstream which could possibly affect millions. [37] It has a combined generating capacity of 22.5 gigawatts and a designed annual generation capacity of 88.2 billion kilowatt hours. Each main water turbine has a capacity of 700 MW. [94] These rare species are also used as ingredients in traditional Chinese medicines. [150], Dam in Sandouping, Yiling District, Hubei. The Tibet Autonomous Region pays no surcharge. [121] It was tested in December 2015 and announced complete in January 2016. By the time night fell on Aug. 8, as many as 65 area dams had collapsed. The wall beyond is to separate spillway and turbine flows from the lock and ship lift upstream approach channel. [7] After the extensive monsoon rainfalls of 2020, the dam's annual production reached ~112 TWh, breaking the previous world record of ~103 TWh set by Itaipu Dam in 2016. Concerns about the potential wildlife impact of the dam predate the National People's Congress's approval in 1992. Now, China's own renowned hydrologist Wang Weiluo has questioned the safety of the massive Dam and has warned that it could collapse at any moment. ", In order to maximize the utility of the Three Gorges Dam and cut down on sedimentation from the Jinsha River, the upper course of the Yangtze River, authorities plan to build a series of dams on the Jinsha, including Wudongde Dam, Baihetan Dam, along with the now completed Xiluodu and Xiangjiaba dams. xfbml : true, // parse social plugins on this page The Asian Times reported yesterday: In a rare revelation, Beijing has admitted that its 2.4-kilometer Three Gorges Dam spanning the Yangtze River in Hubei province “ deformed slightly ” after record flooding. [citation needed]. 2) started on July 10, 2003; the north side became completely operational September 7, 2005, with the implementation of generator No. The Three Gorges dam is discharging flood. The Three Gorges Dam built on the river Yangtze River has been deemed a a environmentally hazardous project right from its beginning given its geographical position and its effect on earth plates. [20][21] Because of that, the dam has been controversial both domestically and abroad. [99], In 2005, NASA scientists calculated that the shift of water mass stored by the dams would increase the total length of the Earth's day by 0.06 microseconds and make the Earth slightly more round in the middle and flat on the poles.[100]. Rated power is 778 MVA, with a maximum of 840 MVA and a power factor of 0.9. The deformation occurred last Saturday when the flood from western provinces including Sichuan and Chongqing along the upper reaches of the Yangtze River peaked at a record-setting 61,000 cubic meters per second, according to China Three Gorges Corporation, a state-owned enterprise that manages the dam and the sprawling power plant underneath it. 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