Recently, the Ye'ertan Hydropower Station, planned, demonstrated, surveyed, designed, and constructed by PowerChina, passed the project impoundment safety appraisal. The expert panel unanimously agreed that the project design is reliable and quality is controllable, and that the project's construction progress basically meets the requirements for gate closure, marking that this double-curvature arch dam hydropower station—the highest-altitude one under construction in China—has entered the impoundment stage.

The Ye'ertan Hydropower Station is the 7th cascade in the "one reservoir, thirteen cascades" development plan for the upper reaches of the Jinsha River, with a total installed capacity of 2.24 million kilowatts and a concrete double-curvature arch dam with a maximum height of 217 meters. The station is located at the border between Baiyu County, Garzê, Sichuan, and Gonjo County, Qamdo, Tibet, with the dam site at an altitude of about 3,000 meters. It is the highest-altitude double-curvature arch dam project under construction in China, and a major project in the national "West-to-East Power Transmission" continuation base and the southwestern hydropower base construction.

The project construction faces world-class technical challenges such as severe cold, high altitude, high dams, and high slopes. After more than 20 years of preliminary research and technological breakthroughs, Chengdu Engineering Corporation successfully responded to the impacts of two Baige barrier lakes during the construction phase, solved the problem of dam construction on complex foundations with developed structures and deep unloading, and overcame technical difficulties such as temperature control for extra-high arch dams in severe cold and high-altitude conditions and continuous winter construction. Through technological innovation, the PowerChina team achieved, for the first time in China's high-altitude severe cold regions, uninterrupted high-quality dam concrete construction throughout the year, creating an engineering miracle of a dam with no temperature cracks. In particular, through optimization of the construction schedule and impoundment planning scheme, the team shortened the period from diversion tunnel gate closure to the first unit's power generation from 8 months in the feasibility study stage to 3 months, laying a solid foundation for earlier impoundment and power generation.

The station plans to close its gates at an opportune time between late September and early October 2025, impound to the dead water level of 2,855 meters in December 2025, and put the first batch of units into operation for power generation in the same month. In October 2026, it will impound to the normal water level of 2,889 meters. After full operation, the station's average annual power generation will reach 10.2 billion kilowatt-hours, equivalent to reducing coal consumption by 3.99 million tons and carbon dioxide emissions by 7.37 million tons annually, which is of great significance to the national energy structure and regional economic and social development.