China turns on world’s second-biggest hydropower dam

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, water is released from the dam of Baihetan hydropower station in Ningnan county, in southwestern China’s Sichuan province on June 27, 2021. The Chinese government says it has turned on the first two generating units of the world’s second-biggest hydroelectric dam. (Jiang Wenyao/Xinhua via AP)

The first two generating units of the world’s second-biggest hydroelectric dam have been officially turned on in south-western China, the government announced.

The Baihetan Dam on the Jinsha River, a tributary of the Yangtze, is part of Chinese efforts to curb surging fossil fuel demand by building more hydropower capacity at a time when dams have fallen out of favour in other countries due to environmental complaints.