Top 3 Hydropower Plants

The top 3 most powerful hydropower plants in the world

Hydropower plant = Conversion of the

kinetic energy

The energy of an object due to its motion.

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of running water into

mechanical energy

Sum of the potential energy and kinetic energy of an object or system. Potential energy is th...

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using hydraulic turbines, and then into electrical energy via a generator. 

Today, hydro is the leading source of renewable energy in the world. 

No. 1 - Three Gorges Dam China

• 2.3 km
• Reservoir volume: 45.3 cu.km
• Or around: 12 million Olympic-sized swimming pools.
• Capacity: 22,500 MW
• Annual output: 98 TWh/year = the average yearly consumption of around 15 million people.
• It saves the consumption of 31 million metric tons of coal* 
  * Le Figaro (January 6, 2021) 

No. 2 - Itaipu Dam Border between Brazil and Paraguay

• 7.2 km
• Reservoir volume: 29 cu.km
• Or around: 8 million Olympic-sized swimming pools.
• Capacity: 14,000 MW / Annual output: 96 TWh/year
• It saves Brazil 434,000 barrels of oil per day.

No. 3 - Xiluodu Dam China

• 700 m
• Reservoir volume: 12.6 cu.km
• Or around: 3.5 million Olympic-sized swimming pools
• Capacity: 13,860 MW
• Annual output: 57.1 TWh/year = the average yearly consumption of around 9 million people.
• It saves the consumption of 18 million metric tons of coal.