Baihetan Dam

The Baihetan Dam (simplified Chinese: 白鹤滩大坝; traditional Chinese: 白鶴灘大壩; pinyin: Báihètān Dàbà) is a large hydroelectric dam under construction on the Jinsha River, an upper stretches of the Yangtze River in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, in the southwest of China. The dam is a 277 m tall double-curvature arch dam with a crest elevation of 827 m. Its width will be 72 m at the base and 13 m at the crest.[3]

Baihetan Dam
Location of Baihetan Dam in China
Official name	白鹤滩大坝
Coordinates	27°12′13″N 102°53′59″E
Construction began	2017
Opening date	2021-2022 (est.)
Construction cost	$6.3 billion[1]
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	double-curvature arch dam
Impounds	Jinsha River
Height	277 metres (909 ft)
Width (crest)	13 metres (43 ft)
Width (base)	72 metres (236 ft)
Reservoir
Total capacity	17,924,000,000 m3 (14,531,223 acre⋅ft)[2]
Power Station
Turbines	16 × 1,000 MW
Installed capacity	16,000 MW
Annual generation	60.24 TWh[3]

The facility will generate power by utilizing 16 turbines, each with a generating capacity of 1,000 MW, taking the generating capacity to 16,000 MW.[4] In terms of generating capacity, it will be the second largest hydroelectric power plant in the world, after the Three Gorges Dam.[5] When finished, it will be the third largest dam in China and the fourth in the world, in terms of dam volume. The dam was originally scheduled to be constructed between 2009 and 2018.[6] Actual construction started in 2017, with the dam to be start partial operational by 2021.[7]