Longyangxia Dam

Longyangxia Dam
Satellite picture of the Longyangxia Dam reservoir and solar power park
Longyangxia Dam is located in China
Longyangxia Dam
Location of Longyangxia Dam in China
CountryChina
LocationGonghe County, Qinghai Province
Coordinates36°07′20″N 100°55′06″E / 36.12222°N 100.91833°E / 36.12222; 100.91833
StatusIn use
Construction began1976
Opening date1992
Dam and spillways
Type of damArch gravity dam
ImpoundsYellow River
Height178 metres (584 ft)
Length396 metres (1,299 ft)
Width (crest)18.5 metres (61 ft)
Width (base)80 metres (262 ft)
Spillway typeService, gate-controlled on crest
Reservoir
CreatesLongyangxia Reservoir
Total capacity24.7 billion cubic metres (20,000,000 acre⋅ft)
Catchment area752,443 square kilometres (290,520 sq mi)
Surface area383 square kilometres (148 sq mi)
Power Station
Hydraulic head122 metres (400 ft) (design)
Turbines4 x 320 MW
Installed capacity1,280 MW
1,400 MW (max. planned)
Annual generation6 TWh
Longyangxia Dam Solar Park
Map
Commission date2014
Construction costCN¥6 billion[1]
Power generation
Nameplate capacity850 MW

The Longyangxia Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam at the entrance of the Longyangxia canyon on the Yellow River in Gonghe County, Qinghai Province, China. The dam is 178 metres (584 ft) tall and was built for the purposes of hydroelectric power generation, irrigation, ice control and flood control. The dam supports a 1,280 MW power station with 4 x 320 MW generators that can operate at a maximum capacity of 1400 MW. Controlling ice, the dam controls downstream releases to reservoirs lower in the river, allowing them to generate more power instead of mitigating ice. Water in the dam's 24.7 billion m3 reservoir provides irrigation water for up to 1,000,000 hectares (2,471,054 acres) of land.[2]

The dam is composed of its main body and a gravity pier and secondary dam on both its left and right flank. The dam's service spillway contains two 12 metres (39 ft) wide gates that discharge water into two 260 metres (853 ft) and 280 metres (919 ft) long chutes. Downstream discharges are also controlled by a similar single-chute middle outlet and the lower outlet works.[2]

  1. ^ "China builds world's biggest solar farm in journey to become green superpower", The Guardian. 19 January 2017
  2. ^ a b "Longyangxia Hydropower Project" (PDF). Chinese National Committee on Large Dams. Retrieved 7 January 2011.