DOSSIERText Alexandra AndristFoto ShutterstockWater War: Make it Dam(n) Big.Chinas neighbors find themselves fighting China forwater. Not drinking water, but water that is being divertedfor Chinas giant energy needs. Chinas climate goals havecreated growing competition for water resources directedfor hydropower dams.Bird’s eye view on the Baihetan Dam.18 spectrum 09.21
hina has set itself an ambitious climateC goal: Carbon neutrality by 2060. Fora country with a population of 1.4 billionwhich is currently generating 56.8% of itsenergy from coal, this is a huge undertaking.The move to renewable energy has Chinalooking to hydropower. Hydropoweraccounts for a total of 17% of energy productionin China, compared to 60% in Switzerland.While Switzerland has a higherpercentage of hydropower use, Switzerlandhas an installed capacity of 16’881 megawatts,China boasts total capacity of 370 gigawatts,or 370,0160 megawatts. While theenergy differentiation is primary due to thesize of the two countries, it shows the capacitythat China is capable of. In 2020 alone,China added 13’760 megawatts followed farbehind by Turkey which has added 2’480megawatts of hydropower energy in 2020.Comparatively, Switzerland only added 900megawatts.China is not only producing the most hydropowerenergy, it also has the largest hydropowerprojects in the world. China currentlyholds the top spots for the world’slargest dams. The Three Gorges Dam isthe largest dam in the world, at 181 meterstall, and 2,335 meters wide, generating 22.5million KW of energy. In July of this year,China put the world’s second largest dam,the Baihetan hydropower plant, into commission.The Baihetan dam has 16 generatingunits, each producing 1 million KW ofenergy. The giant dam stands at 289 meters,reaching just under the Eiffel tower at 300meters, and far taller than Switzerland’s tallesttower, the Roche Tower 1 which standsat 178 meters.«It’s like we are all still pedaling our bicycles,while the formula 1 race goesflying by»Hydropower alone cannot get China tomeet its climate goals. The water systemsproducing hydropower energy are locatedfar from the cities which need this energy.Transporting the energy across the countrywhere it is needed, is no simple feat of engineering.China has developed ambitiousplans for a super grid solution. This will notbe a standard energy transportation grid;this will be the largest super grid the worldhas ever seen. It is also the first ever UltraHigh Voltage (UHV) Alternating Current(AC) to Direct Current (DC) power grid.No other country in the world has ever builta hybrid UHV AC-DC grid. This advancedUHV technology puts it leaps ahead of therest of the world. «It’s like we are still peda-ling our bicycles, while the formula 1 racegoes flying by», says Gregory Reed of theUniversity of Pittsburg’s Center for Energyto IEEE Spectrum Magazine. While thisenergy system sounds complicated, it representsthe Tesla of energy transmission;effective, efficient, and cutting edge.«Tibetans have lost all say in what happenson their land»In the Tibetan territory, in the foothills ofthe Himalayas and just 30 kilometers fromthe Indian border, China has new plans foran even larger dam than the Three GorgesDam or the Baihetan dam. The project forthe 60-gigawatt mega dam is planned onthe world highest river, the Yarlung Tsangporiver on 5,000 meters above sea level. Theriver plunges 2,700 meters through the YarlungTsangpo Grand Canyon. This push ofwater through the canyon makes it conducivefor creating hydroelectric energy, writesAl Jazeera.The Baihetan Dam's height in comparison withother significant buildings (in meters).The long-term costs of the construction willfall on the people of Tibet and the countrieswho are located downstream from the fastflowingriver. 14’000 Tibetans live near theupcoming dam project. Many of the 14’000residents around the dam project will haveto be relocated, although it is unclear howmany residents will be affected, reports AlJazeera. Moreover, around 1.8 billion peopledepend on the freshwater runoff from theriver for drinking water, in countries includingChina, India, and Bhutan.«We have lost all say in what happens onour land», says Tempa Gyaltsen Zamlha, theHead of Environment and Development atthe Tibetan Policy Institute to Al Jazeera.Hydropower development as a politicaltoolIn June 2020, after months of rising tensionsat a disputed border between China and India,a confutation erupted between soldierson the two sides. 20 Indian soldiers and fourChinese soldiers were killed in the deadliestclash between the neighboring countriesin 50 years. The hydropower projects thatChina is undertaking will very likely furtherexasperate the relations between China andits neighbors who find themselves and theirwater systems affected by these projects.China is accused of knowingly undertakingthese controversial projects to further internationalpolitical disputes. The mega dam isforeseen by the international community tobe used as a political tool by China. Indiaclaims that through these dams, China createsa bargaining chip to use in political negotiations.India has already planned a newhydropower project on another part of thesame river as China is using, as a response tothe Chinese dam encroachment.The potential conflict is not going unnoticedby international powers. The UnitedStates of America recently passed the TibetPolicy and Support Act in which it aims to«encourage a regional framework on watersecurity [...] to facilitate cooperative agreementsamong all (river affected) nations [...]on the Tibetan Plateau.»China responded in December 2020 witha public statement: «China will continueto maintain communication with Indiaand Bangladesh through existing channels.There is no need for the outside world toover-interpret it», said Hua Chunying, a spokespersonfor the Chinese Foreign Ministry.As the number one polluter in the world(number seven per capita) should the internationalcommunity applaud Chinas progressivesteps, or should they be wary ofpotential future conflicts in the region? Tensionsare rising for water and energy needs.Innovations China is undertaking are monumental,however, the cost at which theyare gaining energy security may be at theexpense of increased regional instability. P09.21spectrum19
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