The Xiluodu Dam () is an

arch dam An arch dam is a concrete dam that is curved upstream in plan. The arch dam is designed so that the force of the water against it, known as hydrostatic pressure, presses against the arch, causing the arch to straighten slightly and strengthen ...

on the

Jinsha River The Jinsha River (, Tibetan: Dri Chu, འབྲི་ཆུ) is the Chinese name for the upper stretches of the Yangtze River. It flows through the provinces of Qinghai, Sichuan, and Yunnan in western China. The river passes through Tiger ...

, i.e. the upper course of the

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. It is located near the

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than city, cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares ...

of Xiluodu in Yongshan County of

Yunnan Province Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...

but the dam straddles into Leibo County of

Sichuan Province Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of th ...

on the opposite side of the river. The primary purpose of the dam is

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined a ...

power generation and its power station has an installed capacity of 13,860 MW. Additionally, the dam provides for

flood control Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water lev ...

, silt control and its regulated water releases are intended to improve

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

downstream. Construction on the dam and power station began in 2005 and the first generator was commissioned in 2013, the last in 2014. It is operated by

China Yangtze Power China Yangtze Power Co., Ltd. (CYPC), known as Yangtze Power is a Chinese utilities company, headquartered in Beijing. The company is a component of SSE 180 Index. A controlling share is held by the parent company China Three Gorges Corporation ...

and is currently the fourth-largest power station in the world, as well as the fifth tallest dam world-wide.

Location

The Xiluodu Dam is located on the Jinsha (Upper Yangtze) River as it exits the mountainous region of the Hengduan Mountains and Yungui Plateau and enters the

Sichuan Basin The Sichuan Basin (), formerly transliterated as the Szechwan Basin, sometimes called the Red Basin, is a lowland region in southwestern China. It is surrounded by mountains on all sides and is drained by the upper Yangtze River and its tribut ...

. This part of the Jinsha flows between the

Daliang Mountains The Daliang Mountains () are in the southern part of the province of Sichuan in China. The Daliang rises above the left bank of the Jinsha (Upper Yangtze) River, opposite the Wulian Feng in Yunnan Province. This part of the Jinsha River is the ...

in Sichuan on the left (northwest) bank, and the

Wulian Feng The Wulian Feng () are a mountain range in Yunnan, China, forming the northwest edge of the Yungui Plateau. The mountains are more of an escarpment than a true mountain range, towering above the right bank of the Jinsha River as it enters the Si ...

in Yunnan on the right (southeast) bank. The Jinsha falls to an elevation of above sea level here while mountains rise more than above the Jinsha on either side.

Background

Preliminary construction (roads, bridges, tunnels) for the dam began in 2003 and work on main structures officially commenced on 26 December 2005. In November 2007, the Jinsha was successfully diverted around the construction site, allowing the dam to be built. Concrete pouring began in 2008. The reservoir was impounded in May 2013 and the first of 18×770 MW

Francis turbine The Francis turbine is a type of water turbine. It is an inward-flow reaction turbine that combines radial and axial flow concepts. Francis turbines are the most common water turbine in use today, and can achieve over 95% efficiency. The pro ...

-generators was commissioned on 15 July 2013. The fourteenth generator was commissioned in April 2014. The eighteenth and final generator was commissioned on 30 June 2014.

Design

The Xiluodu is a tall and long double-curvature arch dam. It is the third tallest arch dam in the world and a key component of the

Project. It withholds a reservoir of of which is considered active storage for power generation. The dam contains several

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure th ...

s to include seven surface outlets, eight mid-level orifices and four spillway tunnels. All spillways afford a maximum discharge of . The dam's power station is split into two

underground power station An underground power station is a type of hydroelectric power station constructed by excavating the major components (e.g. machine hall, penstocks, and tailrace) from rock, rather than the more common surface-based construction methods. One or mor ...

s, one located behind the right abutment, the second behind the left abutment. Each power station contains nine 770 MW

-generators for a total installed capacity of 13,860 MW.

References

External links

Xiluodu dam under construction in 2013
{{Yangtze dams , dam=Xiluodu Dam, downriver= Xiangjiaba Dam, upriver=

Baihetan Dam The Baihetan Dam () is a large hydroelectric dam on the Jinsha River, an upper stretch of the Yangtze River in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, in southwest China. The dam is a 289-meter-tall double-curvature arch dam with a crest elevation of 8 ...

Hydroelectric power stations in Yunnan Dams completed in 2013 Dams in China Dams on the Jinsha River 2014 establishments in China Arch dams Hydroelectric power stations in Sichuan Energy infrastructure completed in 2014 Underground power stations Buildings and structures in Zhaotong

Location

Background

Design

See also

References

External links