Yebatan hydropower project is a 2.24GW run-of-the-river hydroelectric facility under construction on the main course of Jinsha River near Changdu. It is located at the intersection of Baiyu County of the Sichuan province and Gongjue County of the Tibet Autonomous Region, China.
Huadian Jinsha River Upstream Hydropower Development Company, a subsidiary of China Huadian Corporation, is the implementing authority of the project.
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Yebatan is the seventh of 13 hydropower stations being built on the upper reaches of Jinsha River. The 2GW Lawa hydropower station located downstream of Yebatan was approved for construction in January 2019.
Scheduled for commissioning in 2025, the Yebatan hydropower facility will become one of the biggest hydropower stations in the upper reaches of the Jinsha River, when completed.
The project is expected to produce 10.2GWh of electricity a year while saving three million tonnes (Mt) of standard coal a year.
Yebatan hydropower project background
The Yebatan hydropower project is being built as part of the 12th and 13th five-year plans of China, focusing on the socio-economic development of the Tibetan region. The project will also strengthen the West-East Power Transmission Programme of China.
Pre-feasibility study for the Yebatan hydroelectric project was completed in 2011, while the National Development and Reform Commission of China approved the construction of the project in 2016.
The preparatory and early construction works were started in 2017, whereas the main dam works were started in March 2019. The project is expected to produce first power in 2024 and be fully functional by 2025.
The Government of China approved CNY33bn ($5bn) in funding for the hydropower project in 2016.
Yebatan hydropower plant make-up
The left bank of the project is located in the Baiyu County of the Ganzi Tibetan autonomous prefecture in the Sichuan province, while the right bank is located in the Gongjue county of the Qamdo prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Yebatan hydropower plant will have a watershed area of 173,484km² and operate at an average flow rate of 839m/s. It will consist of a water holding architecture to provide a storage capacity of one billion cubic metres (bcm), a concrete double curvature arch dam with five surface discharge gates, four deep holes and a plunge pool, and an underground powerhouse on the right bank.
The concrete double curvature arch dam will have a crest elevation of 2,894m, while its crest arch length will be approximately 582m. The maximum height of the dam will be 217m. The project design allows for seasonal adjustment in the flow of water.
The underground powerhouse to be erected on the right bank of the Yebatan hydropower project will house four hydro turbine and generator units rated at 510MW each and an additional smaller turbine generator unit rated at 200MW.
Development activities, including the building of roads, a gas station, and other associated infrastructure, are being carried out alongside the project in the region.
Power off-take from the Yebatan hydropower plant
Electricity generated at the Yebatan hydropower facility will be distributed in the Henan, Hubei, Hunan, and Jiangxi provinces.
Contractors involved
Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina), the Chinese state-owned engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the development of hydroelectric projects, is engaged as the main contractor for the Yebatan project.
Its subsidiaries, including Guiyang Engineering Corporation, Power China Hydropower Development Group, Sinohydro Engineering Bureau 4, and Sinohydro Bureau 7 Company, are involved in the construction of the Yebatan hydropower project.
