Construction of Wudongde Dam enters final sprint
Date: 2019-06-25
Construction of Wudongde Dam has entered final stage as the fourth largest hydropower station in China and the seventh biggest in the world is only one year away before its first generation unit starts producing electricity in next July.
Wudongde, which means “a misty place” in the Miao language, was once an obscure small place in the lower reaches of the Jinsha River before it was put under spotlight as the site of the massive hydropower project undertook by the China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG), the world’s leading hydropower and clean energy developer.
The first generation unit at Wudongde Dam, which commenced the construction on December 24, 2015, is scheduled to start producing electricity in July next year when the impoundment at the reservoir will reach 945 meters, the designed level for power generation, after concrete pouring of the dam hits the crest elevation one month earlier, according to the plan.
Installation of the surface outlet gates of the dam will be completed ahead of the flood season in 2021, which will mark the full completion of the dam. All the power units of the Wudedong Dam are scheduled to come into operation by December 2021.
CTG spared no efforts to start the development and construction of Wudongde Dam and other three world-class hydroelectric stations, namely, the Xiangjiaba Dam, the Xiluodu Dam and the Baihetan Dam in the lower reaches of the Jinsha River. The combined installed capability of the four dams reached 46.46 million kWh, double the capacity of the Three Gorges Dam.
The Wudongde hydropower project consists of a concrete double-curvature arch dam, drainage structures, underground water diversion systems for power generation along with other structures. The dam crest has an elevation of 988 meters and the maximum height of the dam is 270 meters. The underground powerhouses located on the left and right banks are equipped with six 850,000kW units on each side, or a total installed capacity of 10.2 million kW. The designed annual power generation capacity of the project is 38.91 billion kWh.
The Wudongde Hydropower Dam under construction on the banks of the Jinsha River
The Wudongde Dam under construction.
The world's thinnest 300-meter high arch dam at Wudongde
The Wudongde Dam under construction at night
#6 Power Generation Unit is being installed at the underground powerhouse on the right bank of the Wudongde Dam
The volute-shaped inside of the underground powerhouse on the left bank of the Wudongde Dam
Yang Xiuhua, a farmer-turned steel fixer of Yi nationality from Mianning County, Sichuan Province, works at the Wudongde Dam.
At the left bank power station of the Wudongde Dam, an engineer measures the chord distance between the adjacent stator positioning ribs.
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