Preface
The proposed Medeau hydropower station on the mainland is comparable to the three Three Gorges power stations, and once completed, it is expected to become the largest hydropower station in the mainland and even in the world.
Moreover, the completion of this hydropower plant will also save the mainland 80 million tons of standard coal (40 million tons of oil) per year, which will help the mainland achieve its ambitious goal of zero emissions by 2060.
However, many years have passed since the project was conceived and it has not yet begun.
Even our neighbor India has jumped out and resolutely opposed the construction of this hydropower station on the mainland.
Medean Hydropower Station: A super-large power station with an installed capacity of 60 million kilowatts
With the rapid development of the mainland's economy and the growing demand for energy, the mainland attaches great importance to the development of clean and renewable energy in order to achieve sustainable development.
Among them, hydropower, as a clean and environmentally friendly renewable energy, has great development potential.
The mainland has also built many hydropower stations for this purpose, among which the largest hydropower station on the mainland is the Three Gorges Hydropower Station, but the mainland's hydropower development is far from reaching its limit.
Therefore, the mainland has since begun to focus on hydropower development in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, where one-third of the country's hydropower resources are concentrated.
Among them, Tibet has many major rivers, such as the Jinsha River, the Lancang River, the Nu River, etc., with abundant average annual runoff, and the plateau terrain has a large drop, which is very conducive to hydropower development.
Among the many rivers in Tibet, the Brahmaputra River contains the most abundant water energy resources.
Originating in the northern foothills of the Himalayas, the Tianhe River is nearly 2,057 kilometers long and runs through almost the entire Tibetan region.
Its average annual runoff is as high as 165.4 billion cubic meters, more than twice that of the Yellow River.
Especially in the big bend area near Medog County, which contains the canyon terrain of "the world's most hydro energy", the water flow difference reaches 2,350 meters, and the theoretical hydropower resources are as high as 44.68 million kilowatts.
Therefore, the mainland has put forward a plan to build a Medeau hydropower station in the Metuo section of the Brahmaputra River.
According to the plan for the Medeau hydropower plant, it is expected that six giant hydropower stations will be built in the deep valley canyon at this bend.
The reservoir hub is 285 meters high and has an installed capacity of 60 million kilowatts.
At that time, the total installed capacity of the Medeau hydropower station will be one of the largest hydropower stations in the world, equivalent to three times that of the Three Gorges, the largest hydropower station in the mainland, and it will become the largest hydropower station in the mainland and even in the world.
But why did the Medeau hydropower station choose to build it in the remote mountainous area of the big bend of the Yajiang River?
Site selection of Modean Hydropower Station: the natural endowment at the bend of the Yajiang River
First, it has unique conditions.
The canyon at the big bend is steep, the drop is huge, and the head resources are abundant, which is an excellent site for the construction of super-large hydropower stations.
The river water continues to gather from the snow-capped mountains and glaciers in the upper reaches, and the kinetic energy contained in it is very powerful.
Taking advantage of this high water head, the Medeau hydropower station can theoretically achieve an installed capacity of 60 million kilowatts.
Second, the population is sparse, and the construction cost is low.
Motuo is located in the hinterland of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with an altitude of more than 4,000 meters, a harsh climate and inaccessible people.
There are almost no permanent settlements in the area where the station was built, and only a few nomads have temporarily settled in the area.
Therefore, compared with the large-scale migration of millions of people from the Three Gorges Hydropower Station, the Medeau Hydropower Station does not need to bear too high resettlement pressure, and the construction of the project is relatively smooth.
3. Located in the southwest border of the mainland, it is of great significance to national energy security.
Tibet and other southwestern regions are vigorously promoting the "transmission of electricity from the west to the east", and it is necessary to build a number of major hydropower stations in this region to transmit clean electricity to the central and eastern regions.
The Medeau hydropower station will play an important strategic role in effectively improving the supply and demand of electricity on the mainland.
It can be seen that the location of the Modean Hydropower Station can be said to have a number of advantages.
The topography of the plateau valley provides an ideal site for the construction of the reservoir, and the sparse population greatly reduces the difficulty of immigration, and the strategic location is perfectly suited to the country's demand for power development in the western region.
It is the combination of these unique advantages that makes the Medeau Hydropower Station stand out and become one of the best development sites in the Brahmaputra River Basin.
But such an excellent location is also destined to not be easy to build a hydropower station here.
Construction difficulty: the world's highest level of overrun challenge
Although the Medeau Hydropower Station has a unique geographical location and unique resource conditions, it still faces many major technical problems to overcome in order to build it into the world's largest hydropower station.
1. The geological structure is complex and geological disasters are frequent.
The Medei Hydropower Station area is located in the active crustal movement zone of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which is affected by the strong northward extrusion of the Indian plate, and the geological activities are very frequent and complex.
The region has historically experienced several strong earthquakes of magnitude 8 or higher.
Moreover, some experts predict that there is a high probability of a magnitude 7~8 earthquake in the next 100 years.
This puts forward extremely high requirements for the design and construction of hydropower projects, and seismic resistance and earthquake prevention must be fully considered.
In addition, the surface material in the Medog area is relatively loose, and once the rainstorm and rainy season comes, it is easy to induce debris flow disasters, which will also have a significant impact on construction safety.
2. The fragile plateau ecological environment.
Located at the confluence of the Eastern Himalayas and the Ninchen Tanggula Mountains, the Medog region is home to an abundance of rare wildlife.
The construction of hydropower stations may have an impact on the habitat of these species.
Striking a balance between exploitation and protection needs to be carefully assessed.
Third, the transportation construction is difficult.
Motuo is located in a remote area, and the original transportation conditions are very weak.
In order to realize the construction of large-scale hydropower stations, it is necessary to first open up the transportation arteries.
But the road project was difficult, requiring the crossing of multiple canyons and the construction of a large number of bridges and tunnels.
However, its completion will greatly improve the traffic situation in the Medog area and provide a strong guarantee for the construction of hydropower stations.
At the same time, it is also considered to rely on the planned Sichuan-Tibet Railway Motuo connection line to realize material transportation, and a variety of transportation capacity allocation, which will help the construction of Medog hydropower project.
The gradual improvement of transportation will open up the secret realm of Motuo, allowing the world to witness the miracle of electricity here more quickly.
Fourth, the scale of investment is huge.
The investment in the Medeau hydropower station is expected to exceed one trillion yuan, far exceeding the total investment of the Three Gorges Hydropower Station.
How to raise funds is a major problem for the construction of the station, and the large scale of investment in the Medeau hydropower station is also rare in hydropower projects at home and abroad.
The simultaneous construction of six super-large power stations, coupled with the complex geological environment, makes the project very expensive.
According to preliminary estimates, the total investment in the Medeau hydropower station may exceed one trillion yuan, and the actual operation may cost much more than that.
Of course, the biggest difficulty may come from the opposition of our neighbour, India, which is also downstream of this ambitious plan.
Why is India against it?
1. The Brahmaputra River is an important lifeline for India.
This international river originating in China, known in India as the Brahmaputra River, is the largest river in India after the Ganges.
It also provides one-third of India's water resources to several northeastern states.
India also has a significant portion of the population living in the Brahmaputra River basin, including some important cities.
As a result, some Indian officials and experts believe that if the mainland develops hydropower upstream of them, it will threaten India's water security.
In addition, the sheer size of the reservoir has also made Indians shudder, fearing that China could open the floodgates at any time and impact India.
Second, China and India are in opposition on the issue of water resources.
Although the two countries have signed a number of border treaties, they have never reached an agreement on sharing the water resources of the transboundary rivers.
Coupled with the complicated relationship between India and China, India has always viewed China as a regional competitor.
So when China built a dam on the Yajiang River, India's first reaction was to worry about water being controlled.
3. India believes that China's move has a geopolitical agenda.
According to the analysis of Indian experts, it is very likely that the construction of the Medog Dam on the mainland is for strategic purposes, and to coerce India into concessions on the border issue by controlling water sources.
Although China denies this claim, India has always seen it as a potential political tool.
For a variety of reasons, India has huge misgivings about China's construction of the Medog dam.
It fears that if the dam is built, the mainland will blackmail India into concessions by holding water from the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra River.
This undoubtedly poses a major hidden danger to India's economic development and social stability.
So, while China has denied such a possibility, India's concerns remain.
The construction of the Medeau hydropower station is imperative
But despite India's opposition, the construction of the Medog hydropower plant is imperative.
After all, after the completion of the Medean hydropower station, it will bring huge economic and social benefits.
For example, the Medeau hydropower station can generate more than 100 billion yuan of electricity sales revenue for the country every year.
At the same time, the construction and operation of hydropower stations can also create a large number of jobs and drive local economic growth.
Second, the Medeau hydropower plant can significantly reduce thermal power consumption and save coal procurement expenditures.
Based on the current benchmark coal consumption of 300 g/kWh for coal-fired thermal power plants, the Medeau hydropower station can replace about 80 million tons of coal per year.
According to the price of 1,000 yuan per ton of coal, it can save the country more than 800 billion yuan in coal procurement expenditure.
Moreover, the huge regulation of the Medohydro power station will also reduce the operating cost of the grid.
Hydropower has excellent peak-to-valley regulation performance, which can effectively supplement the intermittency of new energy power generation, reduce the peak-shaving start-stop units in the operation of the power grid, and greatly reduce the system operation and maintenance costs.
Therefore, it is imperative for the construction of the Medeau Hydropower Station!
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