China began construction in July 2025 on the Medog hydropower station, a 60,000 MW dam at the Yarlung Tsangpo river's great bend in Tibet. The project is planned to generate 300 billion kWh annually, supporting Beijing's pledge to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2060. It will transmit electricity via ultra-high-voltage lines to eastern China, but its location at the last point before the river crosses into India and Bangladesh gives China control over downstream water flow, with no binding treaty or joint monitoring in place. India has responded by accelerating the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, an 11,000 MW storage dam in Arunachal Pradesh designed partly as a hydrological buffer against potential upstream discharge manipulation. Both countries frame these dams as clean energy initiatives, but the article argues the Medog site's choice is not explained by climate accounting alone. The project highlights the tension between renewable energy expansion and geopolitical leverage over transboundary rivers.
