The largest hydroelectricity plants in the world

One of the most common forms of renewable energy has, for quite a while, been hydroelectricity. Sites such as the Hoover Dam and the Three Gorges Dam have become landmarks in their own right, however, they serve a purpose that is more than what makes a great tourist attraction. Harnessing the flow of the water, great turbines convert the steady deluge into electricity which has powered the grid for over a century. Below is a listing of some of the largest dams by electricity generation capacity in the world.

Three Gorges Dam

Completed in 2008, this dam was not without controversy in its scale and the sheer size of the lake that it would create displacing many people. A total of 1084 square kilometers was flooded to be able to generate 22,500 MW of power from the Yangtze river in China.

Itaipu Dam

Straddling the border between Brazil and Paraguay, the Itaipu Dam has a capacity of 14,000 MW and comes in as the world’s second largest hydroelectric generation station.

Xiluodu

The Xiluodu project is the newest of the world’s super dams; able to generate 13,860MW of power, this dam on the Jinsha river in china was completed in 2014. China is one of the fastest growing electricity producers in the world and much of its capacity is being gained from Hydro-electricity with four of the top 10 hydroelectric power plants in the world being located in china.

Baihetan

Though this dam is not yet complete, or supplying power to the grid yet, in 2021 this dam sill overtake the Itaipu dam to become the world’s second largest hydro power plant with a capacity of 16,000 MW. Giving China the number one and number two spots.