Deep in the dry-hot valley at the Sichuan–Yunnan border along the upper reaches of the Jinsha River, construction of the Xulong Hydropower Station by CHN Energy Dadu River Company is progressing as planned. Excavation of the dam foundation pit has now entered its final stage. Nearly 500 builders and more than 200 sets of construction equipment are currently engaged in the remaining excavation of about 900,000 cubic meters of earth and rock, preparing for the first concrete pour of the dam scheduled within the year.
The Xulong Hydropower Station is located on the main stream of the Jinsha River at the border between Derong County in Sichuan Province and Deqin County in Yunnan Province. It is the twelfth cascade in the “one reservoir with thirteen cascade stations” development plan for the upper Jinsha River and one of the key projects launched during China’s 14th Five-Year Plan period. The station is also the first hydropower project in the Yangtze River Basin to receive construction approval since the implementation of the Yangtze River Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China. With a total installed capacity of 2.4 million kilowatts, the project is being developed and built by CHN Energy Dadu River Company. It received official approval in 2022.
The Jinsha River Basin is rich in hydropower resources and serves as China’s largest hydropower base as well as a major power supply area for the country’s west-to-east electricity transmission program. The Xulong project site lies at an elevation of about 2,400 meters and features a dry-hot valley climate characterized by strong ultraviolet radiation and arid conditions. Since construction began, the project team has completed approximately 8 million cubic meters of foundation pit excavation within 30 months, setting construction records including an average daily excavation volume of 25,000 cubic meters and a monthly dam shoulder excavation drop of 25 meters in elevation.
In hydropower construction, concrete temperature control is a crucial element in building a double-curvature arch dam. The special climatic conditions at the Xulong dam site place higher demands on temperature control for concrete. The project has been included in the research program of the National Key Laboratory for Intelligent Construction and Operation of Hydraulic Engineering. Drawing on pouring experience from major hydropower stations such as Jinping, Baihetan, Xiluodu, Wudongde and Dagangshan on the Dadu River, the construction team organizes monthly technical meetings dedicated to concrete temperature control to further optimize temperature management solutions.
Multiple technological innovations have been carried out during the construction of the Xulong Hydropower Station. Working with domestic equipment manufacturers, the project team spent two years overcoming the challenge of enabling hydropower generating units to operate across the full load range from 0 to 100 percent, allowing the units to run stably at any load level and better meet ecological flow requirements as well as coordinated operation with solar power. In the development of a smart power plant, intelligent equipment has been incorporated into the integrated bidding process for major equipment, enabling the main equipment and intelligent systems to be designed, manufactured and installed simultaneously. The construction team has also developed the Xulong Hydropower Station Electromechanical Equipment 3D Interactive Management Platform, which includes a database exceeding 100,000 entries and enables data sharing among the project owner, designers, contractors and supervisors.
In terms of ecological protection, the project is conducting 13 research programs, including ecological restoration in the dry-hot valley, ecological flow guarantees, breeding and migration of aquatic species, and intelligent ventilation systems for enclosed construction environments.
According to the plan, the Xulong Hydropower Station will achieve the first concrete pour of the dam in 2026, marking the transition of the project from the excavation stage to the concrete construction phase. After completion, the station is expected to deliver more than 10 billion kilowatt-hours of clean electricity annually.
