China has approved what is set to become the biggest hydropower dam complex in the world, capable of producing nearly three times as much power as the

The largest hydroelectric dam in the world has been approved

submited by

Style Pass

2025-01-05 13:00:05

China has approved what is set to become the biggest hydropower dam complex in the world, capable of producing nearly three times as much power as the current record-holder, the Three Gorges Dam.

The project is slated to be built on the Yarlung Zangbo River in Tibet near the border of India at a cost of US$137 billion. It's part of China's 14th "Five-Year Plan," which includes environmental goals to accelerate renewable energy and fight pollution. The location of the proposed dam looks to take advantage of the river's steep geography to harness more hydropower than ever before: 300 billion kilowatt-hours per year.

The Three Gorges Dam, spanning the Yangtze River in China, currently holds the world title for installed capacity and annual hydroelectricity generation, producing between 95 and 112 TWh every year. If completed, the proposed Yarlung Tsangpo Hydroelectric Project will eclipse the Three Gorges Dam production by nearly three times.

For a sense of scale, the largest hydroelectric power plant in the US is the Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River in Washington. It's one of the largest concrete structures in the world and produces about 20 TWh per year. The Hoover Dam that sits on the Nevada/Arizona border produces a mere 4.2 TWh, comparatively.