Mega hydropower project in Tibet
China plans to build this mega hydropower project over the Yarlung Tsangpo River across the Tibetan plateau. The sacred river is home to the deepest canyon on the planet, with a vertical difference of 25,154 feet (7,667 meters). The Chinese government intends to use this to its advantage and generate nearly 300 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of hydropower from the project, sufficient to meet the energy needs of 300 million people every year.

The river’s lower reaches have a vertical drop of 6,561 feet (2,000 m) over 31 miles (50 km). This alone has the potential to generate 70 million kilowatts of power, authorities have previously said about the project site.

To harness this energy, though, will require China to drill 2.5 -12.5 mile (4-20 km) long tunnels in the Namcha Barwa mountain that will divert half the river’s flow at about 2,000 cubic meters per second.