Already Armed With a Dam That Slows the Earth’s Rotation, China Is Now Building a $165 Billion Colossal Structure

China is moving forward with the construction of the world’s most powerful hydroelectric facility in the Tibet Autonomous Region. The $165 billion Motuo Hydropower Station, announced in mid-2025, is designed to generate 60 gigawatts of electricity—nearly three times the output of the Three Gorges Dam. The project will be located along the upper reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River, which flows into India and Bangladesh as the Brahmaputra and Jamuna, respectively.

The Chinese government has presented the dam as a strategic step toward meeting national climate goals, as well as reducing reliance on coal through increased renewable energy output. Beijing maintains the project will not negatively impact downstream countries. Officials have emphasized its role in the West-to-East Power Transmission initiative, which sends electricity from western provinces like Tibet to China’s industrial hubs in the east.

Regional governments and environmental organizations, however, have raised concerns about the dam’s transboundary implications. Indian and Bangladeshi officials have warned of the potential for altered river flows, ecological disruption, and future geopolitical leverage. In addition, rights groups have documented mass displacement of ethnic Tibetans, destruction of religious sites, and lack of transparency in the project’s planning and execution.

This development comes amid a broader surge in dam construction across the Tibetan plateau, where China has either completed or proposed more than 190 hydropower projects since 2000. With over 1.8 billion people dependent on rivers originating in Tibet, the international implications are considerable.

Energy Ambition Meets Contested Terrain

The Motuo Hydropower Station is the largest of a series of mega-dams planned by China in Tibet. According to Chinese state media and BBC reporting, the facility will provide enough power to significantly reduce carbon emissions, complementing China’s wind and solar sectors. It also supports the country’s pledge to become carbon neutral by 2060. Unlike intermittent renewables, hydropower offers grid stability—something Beijing sees as essential for sustaining long-term economic growth.

Yet the dam’s location deep within one of the world’s most seismically active regions raises concerns. The Yarlung Tsangpo Gorge—where the river curves around the Namcha Barwa mountain—is subject to regular landslides and geological shifts. Building large-scale infrastructure in this environment introduces risk not only to construction crews and local populations, but to downstream communities vulnerable to flooding and sediment disruption.

Indian water officials have repeatedly flagged the dam as a potential strategic tool in future conflict scenarios. Pema Khandu, Chief Minister of India’s Arunachal Pradesh state, described the dam as an “existential threat,” warning that sudden releases of water could devastate villages along the Siang River. The region, he said, “cannot afford surprises upstream” and compared the project to a potential “water bomb”. A 2020 report by the Lowy Institute similarly noted that Chinese control of transboundary rivers could act as a “chokehold” on South Asian water security.

Downstream Impact and Displacement

The hydrological reach of the Motuo Dam extends far beyond China’s borders. Bangladesh, which depends on the Jamuna River for agriculture and drinking water, has also raised concerns about future water flow variations. Officials in Dhaka have requested transparency from Beijing but have yet to receive formal commitments on data-sharing or early-warning systems.

Meanwhile, the social cost within Tibet is becoming increasingly visible. According to a 2025 report by the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), as many as 1.2 million people may be displaced by current and planned hydropower projects. The report documents the destruction of cultural heritage sites, including ancient monasteries, and a pattern of relocation with little consultation or compensation. In Derge County, protests against the Khamtok Dam in early 2024 led to hundreds of arrests and a communications blackout in the region.

Of the 193 dam projects studied, nearly 80% fall into the large or mega-dam category (above 100 megawatts). The ICT analysis also highlights the lack of environmental impact assessments, particularly in ecologically sensitive areas. These projects have already disrupted migratory fish populations, altered sediment flow, and contributed to reduced water quality downstream—changes that will be magnified by the scale of the Motuo project.

The Climate Paradox of Hydropower

Despite China’s framing of hydropower as a clean energy source, researchers point to a growing body of evidence that questions this narrative. While hydropower emits no CO₂ during electricity production, large reservoirs can produce methane—a greenhouse gas more than 80 times as potent as carbon dioxide in the short term—through the decay of submerged organic matter.

A study in Nature found that emissions from some tropical and subtropical dams rival those of coal-fired plants over time. In regions like Tibet, where permafrost and high-altitude ecosystems are already under pressure from global warming, damming rivers adds a layer of long-term ecological vulnerability. The lack of independent environmental oversight, particularly in authoritarian contexts, has deepened skepticism around China’s stated climate commitments.