The 5 largest hydroelectric plants in the world

Hydroelectric power is the first renewable source in the world. Currently the installed power exceeds 1.000 GW and production in 2014 reached 1.437 TWh, which accounted for 14% of world electricity production according to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA).

In addition, according to the forecasts of the same agency, hydroelectric energy will continue to grow at a significant rate until doubling its current power and exceed 2.000 GW of installed power in 2050.

Hydroelectric power

Hydropower has many advantages over most other electrical power sources, including a high level of reliability, proven technology and high efficiency, lowest operating and maintenance costs.

Hydropower is the main renewable source, since it triples that of wind, which, with 350 GW, is the second source. The contributions of this technology in recent years have generated more electricity than the rest of the renewable energies together. And the development potential of this technology is enormous, especially in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The IEA roadmap predicts that global installed capacity will double to almost 2.000 GW by 2050, with global electricity production exceeding 7.000 TWh.

The growth of hydroelectric generation will come basically from big projects in emerging and developing economies. In these countries, large and small hydroelectric power projects can improve access to electrical energy services, and reduce poverty in many parts of the planet, where electricity and drinking water have not reached.

Hydroelectric energy, obtained through the use of kinetic energy and the potential of currents and waterfalls, is one of the older renewable sources and used by the planet to obtain energy. China is today the world's largest producer of hydroelectric energy, followed by Brazil, Canada, the United States and Russia, countries that have the main hydroelectric plants in the world.

Next we are going to see the top 5 of the hydroelectric plants

Hydroelectric power station of the Three Gorges

This plant has an installed power of 22.500 MW. It is located in Yichang, Hubei province, and is the largest in the world. It is a conventional reservoir hydroelectric facility that takes advantage of the water from the Yangtze River, being owned by the Chinese Three Gorges Corporation through its subsidiary China Yangtze Power.

The construction of the project required an investment of 18.000 million euros. This mega construction began in 1993 and was completed in 2012. The dam has Meters 181 and 2.335 meters in length, it was carried out as part of the Three Gorges project, together with the hydroelectric power plant composed of 32 turbines of 700 MW each, and two generating units of 50 MW. Currently, the plant's annual energy production has just set the world record in 2014 with 98,8 TWh, enabling it to supply electricity to nine provinces and two cities, including Shanghai.

Itaipu hydroelectric plant

The Itaipu hydroelectric plant, with an installed capacity of 14.000 MW, is the second largest in the world. The facility is located on the Paraná River, on the border between Brazil and Paraguay. The investment made in the construction of the plant was 15.000 million euros. The works began in 1975 and were completed in 1982. The engineers of the consortium of IECO based in the United States and ELC Electroconsult based in Italy, carried out the construction, commencing power production from the plant in May 1984.

The Itaipu hydroelectric plant supplies around 17,3% of the energy consumption in Brazil and 72,5% of the energy consumed in Paraguay. Specifically, it consists of 20 generating units with a capacity of 700 MW each.

Xiluodu hydroelectric power station

This power plant is located on the course of the Jinsha River, a tributary of the Yangtze River in its upper course, it is in the center of Sichuan province, it is the second largest power station in China and the third largest in the world. The installed capacity of the plant reached 13.860 MW at the end of 2014 when the last two generation turbines were installed. The project was developed by the Three Gorges Project Corporation and it is expected to generate 64 TWh of electricity per year when fully operational.

The project needed an investment of 5.500 millones de euros and construction began in 2005, starting the first turbines in July 2013. The plant consists of a double curvature arch dam 285,5 meters high and 700 meters wide, creating a reservoir with a capacity storage of 12.670 million cubic meters. The facilities equipment, supplied by Voith engineers, consists of 18 Francis turbine generators with a capacity of 770 MW each and an air-cooled generator with 855,6 MVA output.

Guri hydroelectric power station.

The Guri plant, also known as the Simón Bolívar hydroelectric plant, is positioned as one of the largest in the world, with a installed capacity of 10.235 MW. The facilities are located on the Caroní River, located in southeastern Venezuela.

The construction of the project began in 1963 and was carried out in two phases, the first was completed in 1978 and the second in 1986. The plant has 20 generation units of different capacities ranging between 130 MW and 770 MW. The company Alstom was selected through two contracts in 2007 and 2009 for the renovation of four 400 MW and five 630 MW units, and Andritz also received a contract to supply five 770MW Francis turbines in 2007. After the renovations in the generation equipment, the The Guri plant achieved an electricity supply of more than 12.900 GW / h.

Tucuruí hydroelectric plant

This dam is located in the lower part of the Tocantins River, in Tucuruí, belonging to the State of Pará in Brazil, it is positioned as the fifth largest hydroelectric plant in the world with its 8.370 MW. The project construction, which required an investment of 4.000 million euros, was started in 1975, completing the first phase in 1984, consisting of a concrete gravity dam 78 meters high and 12.500 meters long, 12 generating units with a capacity of 330MW each. one and two auxiliary units of 25 MW.

A second phase added a new power plant that was started in 1998 and completed at the end of 2010, in which the installation of 11 generation units with a capacity of 370 MW each was carried out. The engineers of a consortium formed by Alstom, GE Hydro, Inepar-Fem and Odebrecht supplied the equipment for this phase. Currently, the plant supplies electricity to the city of Belém and the surrounding area.


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