China’s dam rush: critics query hydropower path to carbon neutrality

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On July 1, the day China’s Communist Party celebrates its 100th anniversary, the country will also mark another milestone – when its newest hydropower plant is powered up for the first time.

The 170 billion yuan (US$26 billion) Baihetan Dam on the Jinsha (Yangtze) River, in the southwestern province of Sichuan, has raised eyebrows for the speed of its construction. It took only four years to build the world’s largest arch dam, despite the treacherous terrain and remote location, with the help of artificial intelligence technology.