| Jinping-II | |
|---|---|
|
|
|
| Official name | Jinping-II Hydropower Station |
| Location | Sichuan, China |
| Coordinates | |
| Construction began | 2007 |
| Opening date | 2014 |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Height | 37 m (121 ft) |
| Length | 162 m (531 ft) |
| Impounds | Yalong River |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Jinping-II Reservoir |
| Capacity | 14,200,000 m3 (11,500 acre·ft) |
| Catchment area | 102,663 km2 (39,638 sq mi) |
| Power station | |
| Turbines | 8 × 600MW |
| Installed capacity | 4,800 MW |
The Jinping-II Hydropower Station (simplified Chinese: 锦屏二级水电站; traditional Chinese: 錦屏二級水電站; pinyin: Jǐnpíng Èrjí Shuǐdiàn Zhàn) also known as the Jinping 2 Dam, is a large hydroelectic project on the "Jinping Bend" of the Yalong River (Yalong Jjiang) in Sichuan, China. Construction on the project began in 2007 and when complete, it will have a 4800 MW capacity. While the Jinping 1 will rely on its large dam and reservoir to supply water, the Jinping 2 will rely on four 16.6 km long headrace tunnels that are supplied with water which is diverted by a much smaller dam, which located 7.5 km downstream of Jinping-I dam.
Contents |
Harnessing hydropower on the Jinping bend of the Yalong River has been in planning for decades. The length of bend is 150 km but the downstream part of the river on the opposite side is only separated by 16 km. Between that distance, there is an elevation drop of 310 m, creating an excellent situation for hydroelectricity production. Two projects were planned for the bend, the Jinping I and Jinping II with a combined capacity of 8,400 MW. Planning for the projects began in the 1960s under the former Sichuan and Shanghai design institutes along with the Ministry of Water Resources and Electric Power. They produced the "Reinvestigation Report on The Yalong River bend (Jinping)". In July 1965, the Jinping Hydropower Engineering Headquarters was set up and designs for the Jinping 1 and Jinping 2 would progress with the East China Investigation and Design Instititute .[1]
Construction on the Jinping 2 started on January 30, 2007 and is scheduled to be completed in 2014. [2]
A 37 m tall, 162 m long sluice dam on the west-side of the Jinping bend will divert water into a 16.6 km long headrace tunnel towards the Jinging 2 Power Station. At the power station, the water will spin eight 550 MW Francis turbines with a total capacity of 4400 MW before being discharged back into the river. The dam will be made of 3.4 million m3 of material.[3]
