MCLC: world's tallest dam approved

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: kirk (denton.2 at osu.edu)
Subject: world's tallest dam approved
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Source: The Guardian (5/17/13):
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/17/chinese-approve-plans-worlds-ta
llest-dam

World's tallest dam approved by Chinese environmental officials
Authorities push forward plans for 314 metre-high dam on Dadu river which
would affect rare plants and fish
By  Jonathan Kaiman in Beijing

Chinese environmental authorities have approved construction plans for
what could become the world's tallest dam, while acknowledging that the
project would affect endangered plants and rare fish species.

The 314 metre-high dam (1,030ft) will serve the Shuangjiangkou hydropower
project along the Dadu river in south-western Sichuan province, according
to China's state news agency, Xinhua. A subsidiary of Guodian Group, one
of China's five major state-owned power companies, will complete the
project over a decade at an estimated cost of £2.9bn.

The dam will be far taller than the 185 metre-high Three Gorges dam along
the Yangtze river – the world's most powerful hydroelectric project – and
slightly edge out the current record holder, the 300 metre-high Nurek dam
in Tajikistan. The world's second-tallest dam, the 292 metre-high Xiaowan
dam on the Lancang (Mekong) river, is also in China.

China's environment ministry acknowledged that the dam would have an
impact on the area's highly biodiverse flora and fauna.
"The project will affect the spawning and movement of rare fish species,
as well as the growth of endangered plants, including the Chinese yew,
which is under first-class state protection," the ministry said, according
to Xinhua.

The ministry proposed counter-measures to mitigate the environmental
impact, such as "protecting fish habitats in tributaries, building fish
ladders and increasing fish breeding and releasing", Xinhua reported. The
project is still awaiting a final go-ahead from China's state council.

The Dadu river is a tributary of the 450 mile-long Min river, which cuts
through the centre of Sichuan province before joining the Yangtze further
south.

Upon completion, the plant will have a total installed capacity of 2GW and
produce nearly 8bn KW-hours of energy
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/energy> a year, about twice as much
as the Hoover dam in the US.

China's hydropower development has surged in recent years as the country
moves to increase non-fossil energy sources to 15% of its total energy use
by 2020. Central authorities approved a controversial cascade of 13 dams
on the pristine upper reaches of the Nu (Salween) river in January. The
plans had stalled nearly a decade ago under pressure from environmental
groups.

Scientists and environmental activists have raised concerns that a
profusion of dams in south-west China could increase the area's risk of
natural disasters 
<http://www.internationalrivers.org/blogs/246/experts-expect-more-earthquak
es-inchina%E2%80%99s-dam-choked-south>, such as earthquakes and landslides.

Another hydroelectric project on the Dadu river prompted social unrest in
2004, as tens of thousands of farmers along its banks rioted against plans
to relocate them. Authorities responded by halting the Pubugou dam's
construction for a year.