List_of_largest_hydroelectric_power_stations

⭐ Core Definition: List of largest hydroelectric power stations

This article provides a list of the largest hydroelectric power stations by generating capacity. Only plants with capacity larger than 3,000 MW are listed.

The Three Gorges Dam in Hubei, China, has the world's largest instantaneous generating capacity at 22,500 MW of power. In second place is the Baihetan Dam, also in China, with a capacity of 16,000 MW. The Itaipu Dam in Paraguay and Brazil is the third largest with 14,000 MW of power. Despite the large difference in installed capacity between Three Gorges Dam and Itaipu Dam, they generate nearly equal amounts of electrical energy during the course of an entire year – Itaipu 103 terawatt-hours (370 PJ) in 2016 and Three Gorges 111.8 TWh (402 PJ) in 2020, because the Three Gorges experiences six months per year when there is very little water available to generate power, while the Paraná River continuously feeds the Itaipu with an ample supply of water year-round.

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👉 List of largest hydroelectric power stations in the context of Yangtze River

The Yangtze River, Yangzi River (English: /ˈjæŋtsi/ or /ˈjɑːŋtsi/) or Chang Jiang (simplified Chinese: 长江; traditional Chinese: 長江; pinyin: Cháng Jiāng; lit. 'long river') is the longest river in China and the third-longest river in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows, 6,374 km (3,961 mi) including the Dam Qu River, the longest source of the Yangtze, in a generally easterly direction to the East China Sea. It is the fifth-largest primary river by discharge volume in the world. Its drainage basin comprises one-fifth of the land area of China, and is home to nearly one-third of the country's population.

The Yangtze has played a major role in the history, culture, and economy of China. For thousands of years, the river has been used for water, irrigation, sanitation, transportation, industry, boundary-marking, and war. The Yangtze Delta generates as much as 20% of China's GDP, and the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze is the largest hydro-electric power station in the world. In mid-2014, the Chinese government announced it was building a multi-tier transport network, comprising railways, roads and airports to create a new economic belt alongside the river.

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In this Dossier

⭐ Core Definition: List of largest hydroelectric power stations
👉 List of largest hydroelectric power stations in the context of Yangtze River
List of largest hydroelectric power stations in the context of Itaipu Dam
List of largest hydroelectric power stations in the context of Baihetan Dam
List of largest hydroelectric power stations in the context of Grand Renaissance Dam

List of largest hydroelectric power stations in the context of Itaipu Dam

The Itaipu Dam (Guarani: Yjoko Itaipu [itajˈpu]; Portuguese: Barragem de Itaipu [itajˈpu]; Spanish: Represa de Itaipú [itajˈpu]) is a hydroelectric dam on the Paraná River located on the border between Brazil and Paraguay. It is the third-largest hydroelectric dam in the world in terms of produced energy.

The name "Itaipu" was taken from an island that existed near the construction site. In the Guarani language, Itaipu means "the sounding stone." As of 2020, the Itaipu Dam's hydroelectric power plant produced the second-largest amount of electricity of any hydroelectric power plant in the world, with its electricity production being only surpassed by the Three Gorges Dam plant in China. Additionally, Itaipu also holds the 45th largest reservoir in the world.

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List of largest hydroelectric power stations in the context of Baihetan Dam

The Baihetan Dam is a large hydroelectric dam on the Jinsha River, an upper stretch of the Yangtze River in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, in southwest China. The dam is a 289-meter-tall double-curvature arch dam with a crest elevation of 827 m, and a width of 72 m at the base and 13 m at the crest. It is considered to be the last large hydropower project in China after a series of projects starting with the Three Gorges Dam. It is also the second largest hydropower plant in the world. The hydropower station is equipped with 16 hydro-generating units each having a capacity of 1 gigawatt, the world's largest turbines. All hydro-generating units of the Baihetan hydropower station became fully operational on 20 December 2022.

The dam is also part of the “world’s largest clean energy corridor”, where it joins other mega hydropower projects like the Three Gorges Dam, Wudongde Dam, Xiluodu Dam, and Xiangjiaba Dam, all located on the same river system, to produce and transmit renewable energy from the resource-rich western region to the cities in the east. In addition to power generation, the hydropower project also provides flood control, improved navigation, and sand blocking.

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List of largest hydroelectric power stations in the context of Grand Renaissance Dam

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD or TaIHiGe; Amharic: ታላቁ የኢትዮጵያ ሕዳሴ ግድብ, romanized: Tālāqu ye-Ītyōppyā Hidāsē Gidib, Tigrinya: ግድብ ሕዳሰ ኢትዮጵያ, Somali: Biyo Xidheenka Wayn ee Itoobiya), formerly known as the Millennium Dam and sometimes referred to as the Hidase Dam (Amharic: ሕዳሴ ግድብ, romanized: Hidāsē Gidib, Oromo: Hidha Hidāsē), is a gravity dam on the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia. The dam is in the Metekel Zone of the Benishangul-Gumuz Region, close to the border with Sudan.

Constructed between 2011 and 2023, the dam's primary purpose is electricity production to relieve Ethiopia's acute energy shortage and to export electricity to neighbouring countries. With an installed capacity of 5.15 gigawatts, the dam is the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa and among the 20 largest in the world.

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List of largest hydroelectric power stations in the context of "Yangtze River"

⭐ In the context of the Yangtze River, which of the following is a significant indicator of its economic importance to China?

⭐ Core Definition: List of largest hydroelectric power stations

👉 List of largest hydroelectric power stations in the context of Yangtze River

List of largest hydroelectric power stations in the context of Itaipu Dam

List of largest hydroelectric power stations in the context of Baihetan Dam

List of largest hydroelectric power stations in the context of Grand Renaissance Dam