On February 26, construction is in full swing at the Huaneng Jinsha River Upper Reaches Lawa Hydropower Station—the world's tallest concrete-faced rockfill dam—located on the upper reaches of the Jinsha River at the Sichuan-Xizang border. "We are making every effort to meet the target of river closure and reservoir impoundment by 2026 and ensure that the first generating unit is ready for commissioning by the end of this year." said He Ruiliang, Deputy General Manager of the Batang Branch of China Huadian Corporation’s Jinsha River Upper Reaches Project. He added that the project will reach a critical milestone for river closure and reservoir impoundment this October.

Construction site

At the construction site, welding sparks fly and machinery roars. Inside the underground main powerhouse, workers are assembling the first generating unit. "Go slower and steadier—we must strictly control hoisting speed and installation quality." said Deng Hu, Director of the Mechanical and Electrical Department. According to him, stator installation has been fully completed, rotor installation is 80% finished, and the unit is expected to be ready for commissioning by the end of this year.

At the Longluowei section of the spillway tunnel, workers are busy fabricating and installing steel reinforcement

The Lawa Hydropower Station is situated on the main stream of the Jinsha River at the border between Batang County in Sichuan Province and Markam County in Xizang Autonomous Region. It is a key component of the Jinsha River Upper Reaches Clean Energy Base, a national priority project under China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021–2025). Once fully operational, the station will generate an average of 9 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, saving approximately 2.77 million tons of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 7.41 million tons per year. The project will significantly enhance grid regulation capability and regional power complementarity, playing a crucial strategic role in supporting the development of China's pilot integrated hydro-solar-wind energy base along major river basins and advancing the nation's 'dual carbon' goals.

【本文部分内容由AI辅助生成，特此声明。The author(s) generated part of the content in this work with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI), which is hereby declared.】