Recently, Jinchuan Hydropower Station of CHN Energy Dadu River successfully began reservoir impoundment, marking a major milestone as the project enters the final countdown to full operation.
Located in Jinchuan County and Maerkang City of Aba Prefecture, Sichuan Province, Jinchuan Hydropower Station is a key project under Sichuan’s 14th Five-Year Energy Development Plan. The station has a total installed capacity of 860 megawatts and a maximum dam height of 112 meters. It is one of the few 100-meter-class concrete-faced rockfill dams in China constructed on a deep overburden layer of up to 65 meters.
Facing the challenges of steep mountains and complex geological conditions, the project management team innovatively applied a series of key technologies. A smart safety management system for underground cavern construction was developed to enable dynamic risk monitoring and early warning. The combined use of dynamic compaction, consolidation grouting, and sand lens replacement ensured the integrity of the dam foundation. Dedicated research on anti-cracking concrete technology addressed the challenges of constructing a 182-meter sloping face slab under plateau and cold-climate conditions. The project also established China’s first fully domestic three-dimensional digital modeling standard system for the entire lifecycle of hydropower projects.
In terms of ecological protection, the hydropower station features Asia’s longest eco-simulated fishway, which integrates natural river channels with tunnels to provide safe migration pathways for endemic fish species of the Dadu River.
Once fully operational, the station will generate about 3.5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, replacing the consumption of approximately one million tons of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by roughly one million tons each year. The project will play a positive role in optimizing the regional energy structure and promoting coordinated regional development.
