The Tankeng Dam stands on the Xiao Xi (Chinese for "stream"), a tributary of the Ou Jiang , in the Qingtian district of the Chinese province of Zhejiang . It is located 24 km west of the main town and seat of the district government. The barrier structure is a 162 m high CFR dam , the reservoir contains 4190 million m³.
The main purpose of the plant is hydropower generation , but it is also used for flood protection , irrigation and tourism. The hydropower plant has 3 Francis turbines and generators of 200 MW each with a total nominal output of 600 MW. The dam was planned in the early 1980s and construction began in 2003. The impoundment began in April 2008 and the first generator went into operation on August 15, 2008, the second on January 12, 2009 and the third on July 10, 2009.
