Top 5 Largest Hydroelectric Dams In The World

The construction of hydroelectric dams is one method of generating electricity naturally from renewable sources of water. For those wondering, how these hydroelectric dams generate electricity, you can refer to this article, How Does Hydroelectric Dam Work?

However, building such massive dams will not guarantee a huge amount of energy production. Here we would like to share with you the top 5 biggest hydroelectric dams in the world based on their capacity.

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5. Belo Monte Dam (11,233 MW)

The Belo Monte dam used to be called the Kararaô dam which is the fifth-largest hydroelectric dam in the world. This dam can be found in Pará, Brazil along the Xingu river.

The dam has 18 turbines and was fully completed back in 2019. This power station has a capacity of 11,233 megawatts (MW) which makes it the second-biggest hydroelectric complex in Brazil.

In Brazil, hydroelectric plants produced more than 85% of energy power in the country. The government decided to build more hydroelectric plants to ensure the sustainability of the nation's energy power.

The plan to construct additional dams has existed since 1975 but it was only realized in 2011 due to several issues and hurdles.

4. Xiluodu Dam (13,860 MW)

Xiluodu dam in the valley of Jinsha river, China is the fourth biggest power station in the world based on its energy production. The dam is measured 278 meters in height and 698 meters long.

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It is located between Leibo and Yonshan states and happens to be a power station, irrigation system as well as flood prevention. The dam is comprised of an underground hydroelectric power station, with each having 9 units of hydroelectric and a combined capacity of 13,860 MW.

The construction of this hydroelectric dam was initiated in 2005 and the first generator was assembled in 2013 and finalized by 2014.

3. Itaipu Dam (14,000 MW)

The power station with the third highest energy production capacity in the world will be the Itaipu Dam which is found along the borders of Brazil and Paraguay. Paraná river is the water source for this dam which has a capacity of 14,000 MW.

The Itaipu dam is comprised of 20 power generators in which each of which has a capacity of 700MW. This hydroelectric dam is a crucial power provider for Paraguay which contributes around 75% of the annual energy needs of the country.

The name Itaipu was given after an island that existed close to the construction site. In the Guarani language, Itaipu means the sounding stone. The concept behind the Itaipu hydroelectric plant was a result of serious negotiations between the two countries in the 1960s.

2. Baihetan Dam (16,000 MW)

The Baihetan Dam is a huge hydroelectric dam in the Jinsha river, the top part of the Yangtze river in the region of Sichuan and Yunnan. This is a twin-curved dam with a height of 289 meters and a peak of 827 meters.

It is considered the final hydroelectric dam in China after a series of projects being done with the Three Gorges. It is also the second-biggest hydroelectric dam in the world.

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The dam is equipped with 16 units of hydro generators with each of them having 1,000 MW of capacity making it the biggest single-unit capacity in the world. All units of hydro generators in Baihetan have been fully operational since 20 December 2022.

1. Three Gorges Dam (22,500 MW)

The Three Gorges Dam in China is the biggest power station in the world producing 22,500 MW of energy. This dam crosses the Yangtze river in the middle of China slightly downstream from the Three Gorges.

On average, this power plant produces 95TWj of electricity each year. The dam was built for several years and was opened in 2003 but it was fully operational according to its full capacity in 2012.

The dam is comprised of 32 main turbines and 2 small generators. On top of that, this dam has also set a record for the most annual energy production reaching 112 TW an hour in 2020. It was after a monsoon season that causes a huge amount of water to flood the river.

Source:

• Forbes

• Britannica Encyclopedia

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