Despite predictions of environmental damage, China began to run the world’s second-largest hydroelectric station on Monday, which officials welcomed as a milestone toward Beijing’s carbon neutrality ambitions. The Baihetan Hydropower Station in southwest China, which is second in the world in terms of electric generation to the country’s Three Gorges Dam, began partial operation on Monday morning, according to state media.
According to state broadcaster CCTV, Baihetan was developed with a total installed capacity of 16,000 megawatts, which means it will eventually be able to generate enough electricity each day to cover the power needs of 500,000 people for a full year. In a congratulatory statement, Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed his hope that the facility will be able to ‘make significant contributions toward attaining the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality.’
The opening of the Baihetan dam on Monday coincides with the Communist Party’s centennial festivities this week. The building has been accelerated by Xi’s commitment last year to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
However, environmental groups have long cautioned that dam construction affects the habitats of unique plants and animals, like the Yangtze Finless Porpoise, which is critically endangered.
Scientists noted in the research published this month, in Elsevier’s Science of the Total Environment journal that dam building on the river has changed the composition of silt in the water, generating ‘large-scale hydrophysical and human health risk affecting the Yangtze River Basins downstream.’
Hundreds of thousands people have been displaced as a result of the major engineering projects, which has caused worry in neighboring countries.
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