Hydropower mission
We need more electricity than our existing power grids can deliver.
So we need more of them.
But fossil fuels pollute, and are in short supply. Nuclear power raises safety concerns. Solar and wind powers are inadequate for the big role.
Hydropower is superb.
So we see numerous dams dotting our waterways. Even more so upstream of the Yangtze River, thanks to the dramatic terrains there.
But this is not a matter of "the more, the better". And hydropower exploitation is more than damming a river and having power-generating units installed. We have heard plenty about lack of planning and coordination in hydropower development on the upper reaches of the Yangtze. Excessive dam-building there may result in undesirable geological and ecological aftermaths. Many of which are beyond the knowledge of the dam-builders.
We have even heard notes of warning from the State Council regarding specific projects. But the craze for dams does not seem to cool down. Truth is even if any individual department wanted to step in, the water is too deep and turbid for meaningful changes. Some of the hydropower stations in operation have never undergone approval procedures. So what? You cannot shut them down when the whole country is crying for more electricity.
A comprehensive solution has eluded us because, in the first place, we never even had a clear picture of it. Who can tell for sure how many dams have been conceived, built and are being constructed?
Without such essential information, there is no way to decide how many more can be built.
The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference deserves tremendous credit for taking the initiative to get such a picture. The "thorough" and "comprehensive" fact-finding mission it has kick-started will fill a long-existing blank in information support for decision-making.
They call this a "warming-up" for a comprehensive solution of the disorder in hydropower exploitation in the area. We expect sensible follow-ups to the warming-up. We cannot afford to wait for too long.
If all the hydropower stations already planned for the Yangtze and its tributaries are completed, experts say, pretty much of the river will be canalized, resulting in irreparable damage to local ecology.
Reality has taught us local governments are not to be trusted on matters that might involve vested local interests. That is why those who masterminded the survey called for immediate and forceful intervention from the State Council.
(China Daily 09/12/2008 page8)
