380 million kilowatts, which is the installed target of hydropower in China in ten years, otherwise it is difficult to complete the “2020 non-fossil energy accounted for 15% of the total” commitment. By the end of August this year, China's hydropower installed capacity has only touched the 200 million kilowatts mark.

Not only is it a gap from the target of 180 million kilowatts (about ten Three Gorges Power Station), but another reality that needs to be faced is the long construction period of large-scale hydropower plants. The projects to be put into operation in 2020 basically need to start construction before 2014.

What is even more stretched is that in the years before such an ambitious goal was put forward, China’s hydropower approval policy was tightened in an all-round manner, resulting in a serious shortage of conventional hydropower during the “11th Five-Year Plan” period, which will inevitably affect the installed hydropower installed capacity in the next ten years. According to statistics, only 11 of the 33 key hydropower stations for the “Eleventh Five-Year Plan” started to be approved for construction, accounting for only 27.1% of the installed capacity.

Although there are signs of decommissioning of hydropower stations, the acceleration of hydropower projects is a general trend, but the difficulties remain. A series of constraints and disputes on the environment and immigration of hydropower development still exist. The years of disputes in the Tiger Leaping Gorge in Yunnan is a typical example. .

Then, how can the strength of all parties, including the environmental protection department and the main body of hydropower development, balance and advance and retreat in order to realize the orderly development of hydropower science?