China is the state with the largest population on the planet. Largely because of this, most of the projects implemented here are gigantic in scope. One of the most striking of them was the Three Gorges - the largest hydroelectric power station and concrete dam in the world. The facility was officially put into operation on July 4, 2012, and the process of its construction lasted a little over twenty years.
general description
Three Gorges was built on the Yangtze River near the town of Sandouping. By the total capacity of all turbines, which reaches the level of 22.5 gigawatts, they are significantly ahead of other largest hydroelectric power stations in the world. The dimensions of the dam in length and height are respectively 2309x185 meters. For all time, according to various estimates, about 23 billion US dollars were invested in the project. Moreover, the authorities were forced to resettle 1.3 residents living in the construction area. Along with generating electricity, the facility provides flood protection in the Yangtze River Basin.
Construction idea
The first to speak of the construction of such a grandiose structure was Sun Yat-sen, who is often called the revolutionary father of the Chinese nation. His work, entitled “China Reconstruction Plan,” published in 1920, mentions the need to build a 30 million horsepower hydroelectric power station in Sansya Canyon. The authorities began to realize this plan only in 1944, when John Savage, an American engineer who designed the world-famous Hoover Dam in his homeland, was invited to inspect the construction site. A year later, he presented his project for the construction of the facility, which ultimately was to lead the list of "The largest hydroelectric power stations in the world." Its construction did not happen then, because a civil war broke out in the country.
Gaezhouba
In the fifties of the last century, the PRC authorities returned to the idea of building the “Three Gorges”. Along with this, the construction of the facility provided for the creation of a large reservoir. This, in turn, necessitated the demolition of a large number of buildings and the relocation of almost two million inhabitants. Mao Zedong did not want to go for it and proposed building a more modest power plant, the Gaezhouba, downstream of the river. However, the beginning of the implementation of this project was also postponed for twenty years. Work on the construction of a hydroelectric power station was finally completed only in 1988. Its capacity was 2.7 gigawatts. At that time, this was quite enough for the state, but the economic growth rate was constantly increasing, and therefore the country's industry was increasingly in need of new sources of electricity.
Preparatory work
In the second half of the eighties of the last century, the PRC government returned to the idea of building the Three Gorges. It is believed that the most powerful hydroelectric power station in the world began to be built in 1992. It was then that the preparatory work began. They included the preparation of a reservoir bed and the formation of infrastructure, including the construction of power lines and roads. The most significant problem was the resettlement of almost 1.3 local residents to other regions of the country. In addition, it was necessary to disassemble all the buildings in the cities, which could complicate shipping in the future. It should be noted that other major hydroelectric power stations in the world were built to overcome similar difficulties.
Construction
After completing the preparatory work mentioned above, on May 14, 1994, Chinese engineers began the construction of a concrete dam. Its construction lasted 13 years. Compared to the project of the fifties, its height was reduced by 50 meters, as a result of which the size of the reservoir decreased. In parallel with the construction of the dam, other objects were erected. The most powerful hydropower plant in the world was equipped with 32 hydraulic units of different capacities, which were installed not in one building, as is customary, but in three at once (one of them is underground). In addition, builders created two strands of locks for five cameras at the facility. This made it possible to significantly simplify shipping, which in this place was previously almost impossible due to the geographical features of the Yangtze River.
Result
The world's most powerful hydroelectric power station surpasses the previous record holder in this indicator by 8.5 gigawatts - Itaipu HPP, located in Parana. More than twenty years have passed since the start of preparatory work and before the commissioning of the last unit. For all this time, Chinese builders have carried out a huge amount of work, which is estimated at 22.5 billion US dollars. The process of generating electricity in the Three Gorges is quite simple and typical of other similar objects: water from the river enters the huge turbine blades, spins them, which drives the generators.
Disadvantages and problems
The main drawback, which has the most powerful hydroelectric power station in the world, was revealed at the preparatory stage of its construction. It is connected not only with the resettlement of many people, but also with the fact that for the sake of economic and technological progress, the Chinese government has sacrificed agricultural lands for a huge area. Historians are disappointed with the flooding of important archaeological sites in the Sansya Canyon, geographers are constantly talking about future floods downstream, and environmentalists fear tree felling and the extinction of rare species of animals. The largest-scale potential disaster, the cause of which may be the most powerful hydroelectric power station in the world, is considered a breakthrough of the dam. Be that as it may, now even skeptics admit that alternative sources of electricity cannot satisfy the demands of the developing economy of the state. Moreover, the facility provides jobs for hundreds of thousands of local residents and annually attracts millions of tourists.
Other largest hydroelectric power stations of the planet
The ten most powerful hydroelectric power stations in the world in increasing order of the main indicator are as follows.
The representative of Russia closes the rating. It is the Boguchanskaya hydroelectric power station located on the Angara . Its capacity is 3 gigawatts.
The ninth place is occupied by the Ust-Ilim hydroelectric station located on the same river. The power of all its units is estimated at 3.84 gigawatts.
The next ascending position belongs to the Bratsk hydroelectric power station with a capacity of 4.5 gigawatts.
The seventh position is the representative of Canada - "Church Falls." Its main feature is that the hydroelectric power station does not have a dam and functions due to the natural inclination of the surface. It was built on the site of a waterfall and named after the former British Prime Minister. Its capacity is 5.43 gigawatts.
In sixth place is the Krasnoyarsk Hydroelectric Power Station, with a total development of 6 gigawatts.
Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station is the largest in our country. It was built on the Yenisei, not far from the city of Sayanogorsk. Its maximum power is 6.4 gigawatts.
The fourth place belongs to the Tukuruy hydroelectric station, which is located in Brazil. It is named after the city, which was flooded during construction. The power of all installations is 8.3 gigawatts.
The Venezuelan hydroelectric station named after Simon Bolivar closes the top three . It was built on the Caroni River and has a capacity of 10.3 gigawatts.
The rating has long been led by the Itaipu Brazilian hydroelectric power station. The total capacity of all its installations is 14 gigawatts, which was a record figure before the advent of the Three Gorges. This hydroelectric power station was built on the Parana River. Now she takes the second place in the world ranking.
The most powerful hydroelectric power station in the world is called "Three Gorges" and is located on the Yangtze River. It was described in more detail above.