List of largest hydroelectric power stations

This article provides a list of the largest hydroelectric power stations by generating capacity. Only plants with capacity larger than 2,000 MW are listed.

The Three Gorges Dam in Hubei, China, has the world's largest instantaneous generating capacity (22,500 MW), with the Itaipu Dam in Brazil/Paraguay in second place (14,000 MW). Despite large differences in installed capacity of these two power stations, during the course of an entire year they generate equal amounts of electrical energy - Itaipu 98.2 TWh in 2012 and Three Gorges 98.1 TWh in 2012, because the Three Gorges experiences six months per year when there is very little water available to generate power, while the Paraná River that feeds the Itaipu has a much lower seasonal variance in flow. In the same time, due to no-stable of feeds, a power output of The Three Gorges expects up to 125 TWh in some years.

The Three Gorges (22,500 MW - 32 × 700 MW and 2 × 50 MW) is operated jointly with the much smaller Gezhouba Dam (2,715 MW), the total generating capacity of this two-dam complex is 25,215 MW. The Itaipu on the Brazil-Paraguay border has 20 generator units with overall 14,000 MW of installed capacity, however the maximum number of generating units allowed to operate simultaneously cannot exceed 18 (12,600 MW).

The Jinsha River (the upper stream of Yangtze River) complex is the largest hydroelectric generating system currently under construction. It has 3 phases. Phase one includes 4 dams on the downstream of the Jinsha River. They are Wudongde Dam, Baihetan Dam, Xiluodu Dam, and Xiangjiaba Dam, with generating capacity of 8,700 MW, 13,050 MW, 13,860 MW, and 6,400 MW respectively. Phase two includes 8 dams on the middle stream of the Jinsha River. The total generating capacity is 21,150 MW. Phase three includes 8 dams on the upper stream of the Jinsha River. The total generating capacity is 8,980 MW. The total combined capacity of the Jinsha complex with the Three Gorges complex will be 97,355 MW.

Preliminary plans exist for the construction of the next largest hydroelectric power station with an installed capacity of 39,000 MW. The Project is called Grand Inga and is planned to be realised on the lower Congo River.

Another proposal, Penzhin Tidal Power Plant, presumes an installed capacity up to 87,100 MW.

The largest hydroelectric power stations top the list of the largest power stations of any kind, are among the largest hydraulic structure and are some of the largest artificial structures in the world.

Largest power stations
This table lists currently operational power stations with an installed capacity of at least 2,000 MW. Some of these may have additional units under construction, but only current installed capacity is listed.