Big, Bigger, Biggest: Three Gorges Dam - documentary

Big, Bigger, Biggest: Three Gorges Dam
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A documentary about the worlds most powerful dam in the world, the Three Gorges Dam. Built over nearly 10 years of solid work in china between 1994 and 2013 this mega structure is one of the most challenging feats of engineering ever perused. Located on the Yangtze which is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world the Three Gorges Dam was primarily designed to help feed China’s ever expanding appetite for energy and as a result it’s the second largest energy output station in the world that generated a record breaking 98.8 TWh in 2014.

 

Despite having been functional as a Dam since 2003 it was not until 2012 when its full potential as a power station was complete. Today the hydro-electric power plant can easily produce 22,000 mega watts of energy per year and provide energy for millions of people. Of course with such a large project comes many pro’s and con’s both from an environmental standpoint and a political one, the dam is 181 meters tall and created a huge reservoir for which it is has been estimated to have displaced more than 1 million people from their homes as the water rose. Not only that but many irreplaceable habitats and archaeological sites were lost forever but perhaps this is simply the cost of such a rapidly developing global superpower.

 

Some facts about the Three Gorges Dam

 

  • Type of dam Gravity dam
  • Impounds Yangtze River
  • Height 181 m (594 ft)
  • Length 2,335 m (7,661 ft)
  • Width (crest) 40 m (131 ft)
  • Width (base) 115 m (377 ft)

Category
Engineering

Presenter
Peter Oxley
Year
2006
Watch time
00:46:54

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