List of conventional hydroelectric power stations

This is a list of conventional hydroelectric power stations.

This list includes power stations that are larger than in maximum net capacity, and are operational or under construction. Those power stations that are smaller than , or those that are only at a planning/proposal stage may be found in regional lists, listed at the end of the page.

Overview The largest hydroelectric power station is the Three Gorges Dam in China, rated at in total installed capacity. After passing on 7 December 2007 the mark of the Itaipu Dam, the facility was ranked as the largest power-generating facility ever built. The dam is high, long and in width. Power is generated by 32 turbines rated at , and two turbines rated , which are used to power the facility itself. Construction of this dam commenced in 1994, and was completed in 2012, nearly two decades after it started.

The next six largest dams, after the Three Gorges Dam, with capacity of more than are: Baihetan Dam Itaipu Dam Xiluodu Dam Belo Monte Dam Guri Dam Wudongde Dam

The Jebel Ali Power Plant, at , is the largest non-renewable energy-generating facility in the world. The planned Grand Inga Dam, if completed, with capacity of , is estimated to be nearly twice the size of the Three Gorges Dam.

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 yearItaipu in 2016 and Three Gorges 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.

Energy output of the Three Gorges reaches in years of high feed availability. The Three Gorges (22,500 MW - 32 × 700 MW and 2 × 50 MW) is operated jointly with the much smaller Gezhouba Dam (2,715 MW). The total generating capacity of this two-dam complex is 25,215 MW. The Itaipu on the Brazil–Paraguay border has 20 generator units with overall 14,000 MW of installed capacity. However, the maximum number of generating units allowed to operate simultaneously cannot exceed 18 (12,600 MW).

The Jinsha River (the upper stream of Yangtze River) complex is the largest hydroelectric generating system currently under construction. It has three phases. Phase one includes four dams on the downstream of the Jinsha River. They are Wudongde Dam, Baihetan Dam, Xiluodu Dam, and Xiangjiaba Dam, with generating capacity of 10,200 MW, 16,000 MW, 13,860 MW, and 7,798 MW respectively. Phase two includes eight dams on the middle stream of the Jinsha River. The total generating capacity is 21,150 MW. Phase three includes eight dams on the upper stream of the Jinsha River. The total generating capacity is 8,980 MW. The total combined capacity of the Jinsha complex with the Three Gorges complex will be 103,203 MW.

, plans exist in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the construction of a hydroelectric power station set to overtake the Three Gorges, with an installed capacity of 39,000 MW. The Project is called Grand Inga and is planned to be realised on the lower Congo River. , China is working on a 50,000 MW dam as part of the Yarlung Tsangpo Hydroelectric and Water Diversion Project. Another proposal, , presumes an installed capacity up to .

The largest hydroelectric power stations top the list of the largest power stations of any kind, are among the largest hydraulic structures and are some of the largest artificial structures in the world.

Hydroelectric power stations The following two lists rank the largest conventional hydroelectric power stations that have an installed electric power generation capacity of at least .

Station Image Country Location River Installed capacity Annual productionGenerating capacity is not the only factor determining the amount of electricity generated, as this also depends on consistent utilization of the plant's capacity. Factors enhancing this are the free capacity of the reservoir and the consistency of water supply during and across years. Area flooded Reservoir volume Years of completion Adam Beck Hydroelectric Generating Stations Canada Ahai Dam China Akosombo Dam Ghana Alberto Lleras Dam Colombia Aldeadávila Dam Alicurá Dam Argentina Aswan High Dam Egypt Atatürk Dam Turkey Baihetan Dam China Jinsha 2022 Baishan Dam China Bakun Hydroelectric Power Station Malaysia Bath County PSP United States 1985, 2005/2009 Beauharnois Hydroelectric Power Station Canada Belo Monte Dam Brazil Xingu 2016/2019 Bento Munhoz Hydroelectric Plant Brazil Bersimis-1 generating station Canada Bhakra Dam India Bieudron Hydroelectric Power Station Switzerland Boguchany Hydroelectric Power Station Russia Bonneville Dam United States Boundary Dam United States Bratsk Dam Russia Angara 1961/1966 Bureya Dam Russia Cahora Bassa Dam Mozambique Caruachi Dam Venezuela Cheboksary Hydroelectric Station Russia Chicoasén Dam Mexico Chief Joseph Dam United States Chirkey Dam Russia Chivor Hydroelectric Project Colombia Churchill Falls Canada Churchill 1971/1974 Cirata Dam Indonesia Coca Codo Sinclair Ecuador Dachaoshan Dam China Dagangshan Dam China Dalles Dam United States Danjiangkou Dam China Dnieper Hydroelectric Station Ukraine El Chocón Dam Argentina Emborcação Hydroelectric Power Plant Brazil Engineer Souza Dias Hydroelectric Power Station Brazil Enguri Dam Georgia Ertan Dam China Yalong 1999 Estreito Hydroelectric Power Plant(Portuguese) Brazil Fengman Dam China Fengning PSP Station China 2019/2021 Furnas Dam Brazil Geheyan Dam China Gezhouba Dam China Ghazi-Barotha Hydropower Project Pakistan Gilgel Gibe III Dam Ethiopia Glen Canyon Dam United States Gongboxia Dam China Gordon M. Shrum Generating Station Canada Goupitan Dam China Wu 2009/2011 Grand Coulee Dam United States Columbia 1942/1950, 1973, 1975/1980, 1983/1984, 1991First unit installed in 1942, 18th in 1950, 21st in 1991; 6 units in third powerplant were installed between 1975 and 1980, 2 units of pumped-storage plant were installed in 1973, 4 more units in 1983 and 1984. Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Ethiopia Blue Nile5,150750 MW commissioned as of August 2022 2022-2025 Grand'Maison Dam France Guandi Dam China Guangzhao Dam China Guanyinyan Dam China Jinsha 2014/2016 Guri Dam Venezuela Caroní 1978, 1986 Hoover Dam United States Houziyan Dam China Huangdeng Dam China Hòa Bình Dam Vietnam Ilha Solteira Dam Brazil Paraná 1973 Ilisu Dam Turkey Indirasagar Dam India Infiernillo Dam Mexico Inga II Democratic Republic of the Congo Iron Gate I Hydroelectric Power Station Itaipu Dam Paraná 1984/1991, 2003First unit installed in 1984, 18th in 1991; in 2003, 2 additional units were installed. Itumbiara Hydroelectric Power Plant Brazil Itá Hydroelectric Power Plant Brazil Jean-Lesage generating station Canada Jinanqiao Dam China Jinghong Dam China Jinping-I Dam China Yalong 2014 Jinping-II Dam China Yalong 2014 Jirau Power Station Brazil Madeira 2014/2016 Jishixia Dam China John Day Dam United States José Richa Hydroelectric Plant Brazil Julius Nyerere Dam Tanzania Karakaya Dam Turkey Karcham Wangtoo Hydroelectric Plant India Kariba Power Station Karun-1 Dam (Shahid Abbaspour) Iran Karun-2 Dam (Masjed Soleyman) Iran Karun-3 Dam Iran Karun-4 Dam Iran Keban Dam Turkey Kettle Generating Station Canada Koyna Hydroelectric Project India Krasnoyarsk Dam Russia Yenisei 1967/1972 Kvilldal Hydroelectric Power Station Norway La Grande-1 generating station Canada La Grande-2-A generating station Canada La Grande-3 generating station Canada La Grande-4 generating station Canada Lai Châu Dam Vietnam Laxiwa Dam China Yellow 2010 Laúca Dam Angola Lianghekou Dam China Yalong 2021/2022 Lijiaxia Dam China Limestone Generating Station Canada Liujiaxia Dam China Liyuan Dam China Longkaikou Dam China Long Spruce Generating Station Canada Longtan Dam China Hongshui 2007/2009 Longyangxia Dam China Ludila Dam China Luiz Barreto Hydroelectric Power Plant Brazil Luiz Gonzaga Power Station Brazil Macagua Venezuela Caroní 1961, 1996 Machadinho Hydroelectric Power Plant Brazil Maerdang Dam China Malpaso (Nezahualcoyotl) Dam Mexico Mangla Dam Pakistan Manic-5 Generating Station Canada Manic-5-PA Generating Station Canada Mantaro-Tablachaca Hydroelectric Complex(Spanish) Peru Manwan Dam China Marimbondo Hydroelectric Power Plant Brazil McNary Dam United States Merowe Dam Sudan Miaowei Dam China Mica Dam Canada Moses-Saunders Power Dam Mosul Dam Iraq Nam Theun II Dam Laos Nathpa Jhakri Dam India Ney Braga Hydroelectric Plant Brazil Nizhnekamsk Hydroelectric Station Russia Nuozhadu Dam China Mekong 2014 Nurek Dam Tajikistan Vakhsh 1972/1979, 1988 Outardes-3 generating station Canada Paulo Afonso Hydroelectric Complex Brazil São Francisco 1954/1974, 1979/1983 Paute Dam Ecuador Pengshui Dam China Piedra del Águila Dam Argentina Porto Primavera Dam Brazil Pubugou Dam China Dadu 2009/2010 René-Lévesque generating station Canada Revelstoke Dam Canada Robert-Bourassa generating station Canada La Grande Combined with adjacent La Grande-2-A the LG-2 complex has 7,722 MW of installed capacity 1979/1981 Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant United States Rocky Reach Dam United States Roseires Dam Sudan Salto Grande Dam Salto Osório Hydroelectric Power Plant Brazil Salto Santiago Dam Brazil Sanbanxi Dam China San Carlos Hydroelectric Power Plant Colombia Santo Antonio Dam Brazil Madeira 2012/2016 Saratov Hydroelectric Station Russia Sardar Sarovar Dam India Sayano-Shushenskaya Dam Russia Yenisei 1978/1985, 2010/201410 units were installed between 1978 and 1985; after the 2009 failure, new units were installed between 2010 and 2014. Serra da Mesa Hydroelectric Power Station Brazil Shatuo Dam China Shuibuya Dam China Shuikou Dam China Silin Dam China Sobradinho Dam Brazil Srisailam Dam India Suwalong Dam China São Simão Hydroelectric Power Plant Brazil Sơn La Dam Vietnam Tala Hydroelectricity Project Bhutan Tarbela Dam Pakistan Indus 1976, 1992, 2018 planned final capacity Tehri Dampower station under construction India another is 1,000 MW under construction Teles Pires Dam Brazil Three Gorges Dam China Yangtze 2008/2012 Tianshengqiao-I Dam China Tianshengqiao-II Dam China Tingzikou Dam China Toktogul Dam Kyrgyzstan Tucuruí Dam Brazil Tocantins 1984, 2007 Upper Gotvand Dam Iran Ust-Ilimsk Hydroelectric Station Russia Angara 1980 Volga Hydroelectric Station Russia Votkinsk Hydroelectric Station Russia Wanapum Dam United States Wanjiazhai Dam China Wudongde Dam China Jinsha 2020/2021 Wujiangdu Dam China Wuqiangxi Dam China Xayaburi Dam Laos Xiangjiaba Dam China Jinsha 2014 Xiaolangdi Dam China Xiaowan Dam China Mekong 2010 Xiluodu Dam China Jinsha 2014 Xingó Hydroelectrical Power Plant Brazil São Francisco 1994/1997 Yacyretá Dam Paraná 1994/1998, 2011 Yangqu Dam China Yantan Dam China Zeya Hydroelectric Station Russia Zhiguli Hydroelectric Station Russia Água Vermelha Dam Brazil

Under construction

This table lists stations under construction with an expected installed capacity at least 3,000 MW.

Name Country Location River Expectedcapacity (MW) Expectedcompletion Medog China Yarlung Tsangpo 2033 Tasang Myanmar Salween ? (on hold) Diamer-Bhasha Pakistan Indus River 2029 Dasu Pakistan Indus River 2029 Rogun Tajikistan Vakhsh 760 MW commissioned as of October 2021 2018-2029 Myitsone Myanmar Irrawaddy ? (suspended)

List of conventional hydroelectric power stations

Bron en licentie