Shuangjiangkou Dam
Rendition of the dam
Shuangjiangkou Dam is located in China
Shuangjiangkou Dam
Location of Shuangjiangkou Dam in China
CountryChina
LocationSichuan Province
Coordinates31°47′33″N 101°55′21″E / 31.79250°N 101.92250°E / 31.79250; 101.92250
StatusUnder construction
Construction began2013
Construction costUS$4.02 billion (¥24.68 billion, £2.9 billion)
Owner(s)State Power Dadu Hydropower Development Co., Ltd.
Dam and spillways
Type of damEmbankment, rock-fill
ImpoundsDadu River
Height312 m (1,024 ft)
Height (foundation)314 m (1,030 ft)
Length648.66 m (2,128 ft)
Elevation at crest2,510 m (8,235 ft)
Width (crest)16 m (52 ft)
Dam volume44,000,000 m3 (1.553845336×109 cu ft)
Reservoir
CreatesShuangjiangkou Reservoir
Total capacity3,135,000,000 m3 (2,541,586 acre⋅ft)
Active capacity2,151,000,000 m3 (1,743,844 acre⋅ft)
Catchment area39,330 km2 (15,185 sq mi)
Normal elevation2,500 m (8,202 ft)
Power Station
Commission date2023
TypeConventional
Hydraulic head226.4 m (743 ft) (mean)
Turbines4 × 500 MW Francis-type
Installed capacity2,000 MW
Annual generation8,341 GWh[1]

The Shuangjiangkou Dam (Chinese: 双江口大坝/双江口水电站), also referred to as Shuang Jiang Kou (Chinese: 双江口), is an embankment dam currently being constructed in a gorge on the Dadu River in Sichuan Province, China. When completed, the 312 m-tall (1,024 ft) dam will be the tallest dam in the world.[2] Preliminary construction began in 2008 and the entire project was expected to be complete in 2018.[3] By April 2011, over 200,000,000 m3 (261,590,124 cu yd) of material had been excavated from the construction site.[4] In March 2013, China's Ministry of Environmental Protection approved construction on the dam's superstructure and associated facilities. The government acknowledged that the dam would have negative impacts on the environment but that developers were working to mitigate them. The dam is being built by the Guodian Group at a cost of US$4.02 billion.[5] The entire construction period is expected to last 10 years.[6] All turbines are expected to be commissioned by 2023.[7]

Design

The Shuangjiangkou Dam, when completed, will be a 312 m-high (1,024 ft) (314 m (1,030 ft) from the foundation) and 648.66 m-long (2,128 ft) rock-fill dam with a relatively impervious core. The dam's crest width will be 16 m (52 ft), its elevation 2,510 m (8,235 ft) above sea level. It will have a structural volume of approximately 44,000,000 m3 (1.553845336×109 cu ft). The dam will sit at the head of a 39,330 km2 (15,185 sq mi) drainage basin and have a reservoir capacity of 3,135,000,000 m3 (2,541,586 acre⋅ft) of which 2,151,000,000 m3 (1,743,844 acre⋅ft) is regulating or active (useful) storage. Normal reservoir elevation will be 2,500 m (8,202 ft) and minimum 2,420 m (7,940 ft). Flood elevations range between 2,501 and 2,504 m (8,205 and 8,215 ft). The dam's power station will contain four 500 MW Francis turbine-generators for an installed capacity of 2000 MW. Firm capacity of the power station is expected to be 503 MW along with the station operating for 4064 hours each year. The power station's design flow is 1,090 m3/s (38,493 cu ft/s) and the mean hydraulic head 226.4 m (743 ft).[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Shuangjiangkou Hydropower Station" (in Chinese). HydroChina Ghengdu. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Shuangjiangkou hydropower Project" (PDF). Chinese National Committee on Large Dams. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
  3. ^ "Shuangjiangkou Dadu River in Sichuan Hydropower Project (updated)" (in Chinese). Electricity Network tender and project. 7 December 2010. Archived from the original on 1 January 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  4. ^ Yang, Durbuy (20 April 2011). "Shuangjiangkou hydropower station completed over 200 million cubic meters of earth excavation". China Gezhouba Group (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  5. ^ "China gives environmental approval to country's biggest hydro dam". Reuters. 17 May 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  6. ^ "Ministry of Power Plant Project Shuangjiangkou" (in Chinese). Bureau of China Railway Group Limited Water Resources and Hydropower fourteen Engineering Company. 30 March 2010. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  7. ^ Li, Shanping; Duan, Bin (September 2016). "The Highest Dam in the World under Construction: The Shuangjiangkou Core-Wall Rockfill Dam". Engineering. 2 (3): 274–275. doi:10.1016/J.ENG.2016.03.018.
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