World's Highest Concrete-Faced Gravel Dam: First Units of Xinjiang Dashixia Water Conservancy Hub Project Connected to Grid for Power Generation

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 29, the first units of the Xinjiang Dashixia Water Conservancy Hub Project, invested in and constructed by China Energy Engineering Group Gezhouba Group, were officially connected to the grid for power generation. The project is located in the Dashixia Gorge section of the Kumarak River in the Aksu region of Xinjiang. The power station is equipped with 3 Francis turbine-generator units with a single-unit capacity of 250,000 kilowatts, with a total installed capacity of 750,000 kilowatts. The units commissioned this time are Unit 1 and Unit 2. Unit 1 was officially commissioned on September 13 after passing a 72-hour trial operation, and Unit 2 subsequently completed its trial operation and entered the power generation phase.

The maximum dam height of the Dashixia Water Conservancy Hub is 247 meters, making it the world's highest concrete-faced gravel dam among those already built and under construction. The total investment in the project is approximately 8.997 billion yuan, the total reservoir capacity is 1.17 billion cubic meters, and the normal water storage level is 1,700 meters. The project achieved river closure in 2019, completed the acceptance for the gate closure and impoundment stage in 2025, and entered the unit commissioning stage in 2026.

After the power station is fully put into operation, the average annual power generation is expected to reach 1.893 billion kilowatt-hours, and it will also undertake peak-shaving tasks for the power systems of the four prefectures in southern Xinjiang. The project also undertakes tasks such as ecological water conveyance for the Tarim River, agricultural irrigation, and flood control, and is designed to convey 3.42 billion cubic meters of ecological water to the Tarim River annually.

At present, the in-plant tests for Unit 3 have all been completed, and grid-related tests continue to advance, with commissioning planned before the end of 2026. By then, all 3 units of 250,000 kilowatts each at the Dashixia Water Conservancy Hub will enter the power generation operation stage.