(January 27, 2011) China’s ministry in charge of environmental protection says hydropower can be dirtier than coal power. Chinese Hydroelectric Engineering Association accuses them of slander.
Expect geological trouble at Three Gorges: report
(January 24, 2011) A new report from the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) says the Three Gorges valley is prone to geological hazards such as tsunami-causing landslides and reservoir-induced earthquakes, which are most likely to occur within 3-5 years after the reservoir reaches its maximum height.
China to usher in a “golden decade” for hydro power sector
(January 19, 2011) As China rushes to meet lofty goals to cut carbon emissions, officials say the country’s hydropower sector will experience a “golden decade.”
China counts £130bn cost of economic growth
(December 28, 2010) The Guardian’s Jonathan Watts writes that the cost of pollution, deteriorating soil and other impacts cost China 1.3 trillion yuan, or 3.9% of the country’s GDP, in 2008.
Chinese Academy of Engineering says Three Gorges project’s feasibility study was “completely correct”
(December 20, 2010) On December 17, 2010, the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) issued an assessment of the Three Gorges project’s feasibility study and affirmed that the plan and conclusions of the study are correct.
Whispering a dirty secret: Chinese officials set to speed up construction of dams
(December 16, 2010) China is once again giving the green light to contentious hydro-electric projects.
Resettlement as vehicle for corruption: China perfects the crime
(December 15, 2010) The Chinese government is undertaking a massive relocation program to solve natural disasters that critics say are “man-made.”
Tonnes of debris fished from Chinese dam
(December 11, 2010) Beijing – Workers in central China have fished 78,000 tonnes of debris out of the water at the Three Gorges Dam since October, state media said Saturday.
Mekong River: Challenges from deforestation and water transfer
(November 23, 2010) The flow of the river will be weakened seriously or it can dry out completely if its waters is transferred to other rivers, like a man who loses his blood, wrote Prof., Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Tran.
China Officials Push Water Plan
(November 9, 2010) Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Probe International’s Executive Director Patricia Adams calls recent plans to pump raw sea water thousands of miles from the coast to the deserts of Xinjiang uneconomic and impractical—and one that only a government undisciplined by markets and public oversight would ever contemplate, let alone implement.
Crowning feat for Three Gorges Dam
(November 7, 2010) Water has risen to its maximum level at China’s Three Gorges Dam, driving electricity output to full capacity at the world’s largest hydropower plant for the first time.
Mountains of trash fished from China’s Three Gorges Dam
(November 4, 2010) Workers in central China have fished 3,800 tonnes of rubbish out of the Three Gorges Dam in just six days, state media said, as the trash threatened to jam up the massive structure.
Three Gorges reservoir hits 175-metre mark, risks begin
(October 26, 2010) China’s massive Three Gorges dam reservoir is finally sitting at its maximum height of 175 metres.
Three Gorges water close to max
(October 21, 2010) China’s state run media outlet, China Daily, is reporting that the reservoir behind the Three Gorges is inching closer to its maximum level.
The Sichuan Earthquake’s Lessons for Dam Builders
(Sepember 23, 2010) Given their relatively short lifetimes to date, modern dams remain generally untested against real-world seismic activity. A report from the International Commission On Large Dams considers the lessons learned from the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake.