Energy Wonders of The World: The Three Gorges Dam, The World's Largest Power Generating Plant
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China’s Three Gorges Dam is the world’s largest power station, generating peak power of 22.5 GW. The Three Gorges' historical origins trace back over a century ago with its early visions targeting the taming of the Yangtze River’s catastrophic floods. Formal construction of the project began in 1994. The project became fully operational in 2012.
With the scale to generate nearly 100 TWh of energy per year, three times the energy generation of the largest energy generating plant in the U.S., The Vogtle Nuclear Plant in Georgia, Three Gorges serves as a significant power source for China's fast-growing industrial need and high-density population cities.
Record Setting Hydro-Electric Construction Coupled With State-of-The-Art Generation
To put the Three Gorges Dam into perspective, its massive reservoir extends 370 miles, while the dam structure spans 1.4 miles across the Yangtze, with specialized cold-treated concrete. The "muscle" of the project consists of 32 massive 700 MW Francis turbines. Each unit weighs 6,000 tonnes, and has a diameter of 34 feet. Collectively the turbines feed state-of-the-art air-cooled generators, which convert the river's pressure into a steady stream of hydroelectric energy.
Three-Gorges: A Geographically Led Energy Transition
By harnessing the drop of the Yangtze, the dam captures the immense kinetic energy of water traveling from the Tibetan mountains and converts it into electricity that is transmitted via UHVDC lines to the high-density industrial cities in the east. All in, the Three Gorges Dam generates enough electricity to power 30 million electric vehicles for 12,000 miles of driving every year.
Three Gorges is an example of converting unique geography into a reliable source and store of clean energy, demonstrating a powerful combination of engineering advancements and modernized grid architecture.
The Three Gorges Dam Project Facts | |
Nameplate Capacity | 22.5 GW |
Completion Date | 2012 |
Total Project Costs | $37+ Billion |
Construction Time | 18 Years |
Annual Power | 100 TWh (equivalent to power needs of ~ 30M Chinese households) |
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