The Maerdang Dam, also known as the Maerdang Hydropower Station, is a major hydroelectric facility located on the upper reaches of the Yellow River in Maqên County, Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China. It is situated at an average altitude of approximately 3,300 meters (10,800 feet) above sea level, making it one of the highest-altitude large-scale hydropower projects in the country.
The project features a concrete-face rock-fill dam (CFRD) with a maximum height of 211 meters. The hydropower station is designed with a total installed capacity of 2.32 million kilowatts (2,320 MW). It is a key component of China’s "West-to-East Power Transmission" initiative, which aims to transport electricity generated in resource-rich western regions to the energy-intensive eastern provinces.
Construction of the Maerdang Hydropower Station is managed by the China Energy Investment Corporation (China Energy). The facility is intended to play a significant role in China’s efforts to achieve carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals by increasing the share of renewable energy in the national power grid. In addition to power generation, the dam is designed to provide regulation of the Yellow River’s flow and contribute to regional economic development.
The first unit of the Maerdang Hydropower Station was successfully commissioned and connected to the grid in April 2024. Once fully operational, the station is expected to generate an average of approximately 7.3 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, which is estimated to save over 2 million tons of standard coal and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 8 million tons per year.
