The most powerful hydroelectric power plants in the world
Now the so-called "green" energy is gaining more and more popularity and every now and then they talk about solar panels and wind turbines, but at the same time many they forget that the so-called carbon-free energy sources (and, for a minute, the cheapest in terms of cost) also include hydroelectric power plants - hydroelectric power plants.
In this article, I want to tell you about the most powerful stations in the world, which are already making our world a little cleaner and better. So let's go.
Sayano-Shushenskaya HPP
So, our impromptu top opens with the Russian and rather well-known (for certain events) Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station, built on the majestic Yenisei River in Khakassia. This is the most powerful hydroelectric power station in Russia with a total capacity of 6400 MW.
At the same time, the height of the arched-gravity dam is an impressive 242 meters, the length of the ridge is 1066 meters, and its width is 25 meters, while the maximum head is 220 meters.
The Grand Coulee Dam
The erected gravity dam on the Columbia River (Washington State, USA) was originally designed for an irrigation system and two hydroelectric power stations at once. The third power plant appeared only in 1974, which made it possible to increase the total generation capacity to a considerable 6,809 MW, which makes it the most powerful hydroelectric power plant in the United States of America.
Xiangjiaba Dam, China
The next most powerful hydropower plant on our list is Xiangjiaba, which is located on the Jinsha River (Yunnan Province, Xuzhou China). Its maximum power is 7750 MW.
Dam of Tucurui, Brazil
Now let's move to South America, namely to Brazil, where the concrete gravity dam of Tukurui was built on the Tocantins River, in the district of Tucurui (State of Para). This unique dam is about 6.9 km long, and if we take into account the earthen dams, then all 12 km. The construction of this facility was completed only in 2010 and since then its capacity is 8370 MW.
Udongde HPP, China
And again we return to the Celestial Empire, namely, to the junction of the provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan (southwestern part of China). It was here that one of the four stations planned for construction as part of the River HPP project was built. And it is this station that is the world's first ultra-high arched dam with a bottom thickness of only some 51 meters.
Only on June 29, 2020, the HPP units were solemnly put into operation and at the current moment the plant's capacity is 10,200 MW.
Hydroelectric power station Simon Bolivar, Venezuela
Another participant in the top, namely the Simon Bolivar Hydroelectric Power Station, better known as the Guri Dam, was built on the Caroni River (Venezuela) and its capacity is 10,235 MW.
Xiluodu Dam
And again, a member of our top is a hydroelectric power station from the Middle Kingdom, which was built on the Jinsha River (Sichuan and Yongshan Provinces). It is a classic hydroelectric power plant with a height of 300 meters and a maximum capacity of 13,860 MW.
Itaipu dam, border of Paraguay and Brazil
This hydroelectric power station was built on the Parana River on the border of two states (Brazil and Paraguay). At the same time, the length of the dam is 7235 meters, the height of the ridge is 225 meters (and this is a 65-storey structure for a minute). At the same time, the maximum power generation capacity of this HPP is 14,000 MW.
Three Gorges, China
And the most powerful hydroelectric power station in the world, which was built near the city of Sandoupin, closes our top. This gigantic structure took 17 years to build. During this time, engineers in China created a dam 2335 meters long with a base width of 115 meters and a top 40 meters wide.
At the same time, the builders had to remove and fill up about 134 million cubic meters of rock, perform a concreting volume of 28,000,000 cubic meters and use 594,000 tons become.
The result was a hydroelectric power station with a total capacity of 22,500 MW.
As can be seen from the above presented top, many powerful hydropower plants in the world are concentrated in China, including the most powerful of them - "Three Gorges". If you are interested in learning more about her, then let me know in the comments. Well, if you liked this material, then rate it and thank you for your attention!