Energy News  
Three Gorges Dam To Be Completed Ahead Of Schedule

file photo
by Staff Writers
Beijing, China (AFP) Feb 06, 2006
China's Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydroelectric power project, will be completed in May this year, nine months ahead of schedule, state media reported Monday.

The project, which was launched in 1993 in the middle reaches of China's longest river, the Yangtze, will have cost 180 billion yuan (22 billion dollars) and required 16 million cubic metres (560 million cubic feet) of concrete, Xinhua news agency said.

It will officially be completed in three months' time when the main dam has concrete poured to 185 meters (610 feet) above sea level, according to Xinhua.

Xinhua, which cited Cao Guangjing, vice-manager of the China Three Gorges Project Corporation, did not explain why the project will be finished early.

China's government says the dam, with a length of 2,309 meters, will generate much needed power, prevent flooding and benefit shipping.

But the scheme has been heavily criticized for its huge cost and its unproven capacity to control floods.

Critics have also cited environmental problems, including silt accumulation and pollution controls in hundreds of cities and villages that have been created because of the dam.

Also, 1.2 million people will have been relocated by the time the project is completed.

Xinhua said the project had been built in three phases, with the first phase from 1993 to 1997. That included the Yangtze being dammed at the Three Gorges area for the first time on November 8, 1997.

Workers began pouring concrete for the dam in late 1998 from the northern bank of the Yangtze and completed most of the structure in October 2002, Xinhua said.

Concrete pouring for the final section of the dam close to the southern bank began in July 2003.

Fourteen of the 26 generators needed for the project have been installed. Once all the generators are in place, they will have a combined capacity of 18.2 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, Xinhua said.

Source: Agence France-Presse

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Related Links
- Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Polymer Membranes For Hydrogen Purification Could Lower Production Costs
Austin TX (SPX) Feb 06, 2006
A team of engineers and scientists at The University of Texas at Austin and RTI International developed new polymer membranes for producing hydrogen that brings an energy-efficient, low-cost hydrogen purification process a step closer to reality, an important stride toward making hydrogen a viable energy alternative.







  • Three Gorges Dam To Be Completed Ahead Of Schedule
  • Polymer Membranes For Hydrogen Purification Could Lower Production Costs
  • Brazil Seeks To Bolster Ethanol Sector
  • New Material Brings Hydrogen Fuel, Cheaper Petrochemicals Closer

  • Interest Revives Worldwide In Nuclear Energy
  • Toshiba To Pay Double For Westinghouse
  • U.K. Opens Debate On Nuclear Power
  • Poll Reveals Half British Public Support Nuclear Future

  • Yale To Study Atmospheric 'Tsunamis'4
  • What Is A Cloud
  • Getting To The TOPP Of Houston's Air Pollution
  • Scientists Seek Sprite Light Source

  • European Union Donates 38M Euros To Africa's Forests
  • Ecologists Mull Future Of Wetlands In Poor Countries
  • Satellites Show Amazon Parks And Indigenous Lands Stop Forest Clearing
  • Deforestation Threatens Brazil's Pantanal Wetland

  • Tracking Food Products From Farm To The Fork
  • Growing Crops To Cope With Climate Change
  • New Possibilities To Fight Pests With Biological Means
  • "Doomsday Vault" To House World's Seeds

  • Volkswagen And Google Team Up To Explore Future Vehicle Nav Systems
  • NASA Technology Featured In New Anti-Icing Windshield Spray
  • Eclectic Koizumi Tries Electric Sedan
  • GM Hires Russian Nuclear Scientists To Develop New Auto Technology

  • Lockheed Martin Highlights 5th Gen Fighters And Next Gen Airlift
  • Air Force Announces Quadrennial Defense Review And Budget Highlights
  • Production Starts On STOVL F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
  • Space Transformation Prepares For Air Force Future

  • Could NASA Get To Pluto Faster? Space Expert Says Yes - By Thinking Nuclear
  • NASA plans to send new robot to Jupiter
  • Los Alamos Hopes To Lead New Era Of Nuclear Space Tranportion With Jovian Mission
  • Boeing Selects Leader for Nuclear Space Systems Program

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement