China's Three Gorges Dam

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The Three Gorges Dam is the world's largest hydroelectric dam. It spans the Yangtze River in China's Hubei province. As of 2008, the as-of-yet unfinished hydroelectric power station currently has 26 functional turbines, delivering a generating capacity of over 18 GW, and the plan calls for the construction of 6 additional turbines by 2012. When the project is completed, the 32 high-efficiency turbines, each capable of producing 700 MW of power, will generate a capacity of 22.5 GW, or 22,500 MW.

In addition to the obvious advantage of generating over 20 GW of electricity, the Three Gorges project was commissioned in order to better regulate the flow of the Yangtze River, which has long been the site of devastating floods. Floods stemming from the Yangtze have claimed over 1 million lives in the past century. Additionally, the project will make the Yangtze navigable into the center of China, a prospect that will benefit the country immensely through enhanced trade opportunities.

To date, the unfinished construction of Three Gorges has cost China an estimated $27 billion. The project was financed by a combination of government spending, corporate bonds and both foreign and domestic bank loans. Additionally, the Three Gorges Dam Construction Fund was created for the explicit purpose of retaining and dispersing funds for the project.
Plans stipulate that the full cost of construction will be recovered within ten years of the fully operating hydroelectric station going on-line, when the plant has created a total electrical output of 1,000 TWh.

Celebrated for its' state-of-the-art designs and potential for limiting greenhouse gas emissions, the Chinese government has publicly stated that the construction and operation of the Three Gorges Dam is an unprecedented success.

The project created an estimated 60,000 work opportunities, many of which were jobs for electricians. Hydroelectric power stations in general create many electrician jobs, as electricians are needed for a variety of tasks involved in the construction and operation of the hydroelectric equipment. These jobs for electrician typically include installing wiring circuits, motors, generators, transformers, switches, voltage regulators, switchboards and many other types of electrical equipment. Electrician jobs are also created after a hydroelectric power station comes on-line, as stations will often employ a team of in-house electricians for the constant monitoring and repair of the various electrical equipment that must run flawlessly in order for the hydroelectric station to continue generating at maximum capacity. Massive projects like the Three Gorges Dam are particularly known for keeping large electrician teams on the payroll, in case of emergencies or large electrical failures.


About the Author:
Eric operates an electrician jobs posting board, where thousands of jobs for electrician are updated daily.



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