Three Gorges Dam

The Three Gorges Dam (<a href="/facts/Simplified_Chinese_characters/UcAD6xXs">simplified Chinese</a>: 三峡大坝; <a href="/facts/Traditional_Chinese_characters/bBFLkuz7">traditional Chinese</a>: 三峽大壩; <a href="/facts/Pinyin/pUwjfMXg">pinyin</a>: Sānxiá Dàbà) is a <a href="/facts/Hydroelectric/zEeJIK2B">hydroelectric</a> <a href="/facts/Gravity_dam/yTDn9Qv0">gravity dam</a> that spans the <a href="/facts/Yangtze_River/f9A2h4rQ">Yangtze River</a> near <a href="/facts/Sandouping/2zKhzlSQ">Sandouping</a> in <a href="/facts/Yiling_District/mKKlGHSa">Yiling District</a>, Yichang, Hubei province, central China, downstream of the <a href="/facts/Three_Gorges/PYIYxMbk">Three Gorges</a>. The <a href="/facts/List_of_largest_power_stations/YSmCjvzI">world's largest power station</a> by <a href="/facts/Installed_capacity/cCIsQueQ">installed capacity</a> (22,500 <a href="/facts/Megawatt/VK8oqRrm">MW</a>), the Three Gorges Dam generates 95±20 <a href="/facts/TWh/qvVkEmPH">TWh</a> of <a href="/facts/Electricity/hNC8D65W">electricity</a> per year on average, depending on the amount of precipitation in the river basin. After the extensive monsoon rainfalls of 2020, the dam produced nearly 112 TWh in a year, breaking the previous world record of ~103 TWh set by the <a href="/facts/Itaipu_Dam/fzBvGj3j">Itaipu Dam</a> in 2016.
The dam's body was completed in 2006; the power plant became fully operational in 2012, when the last of the main <a href="/facts/Water_turbine/asldvmcG">water turbines</a> in the underground plant began production. The last major component of the project, the ship lift, was completed in 2015. The dam, measuring 185 meters in height and 2,309 meters in width, significantly surpasses Brazil’s 12,600 MW Itaipu facility and is one of the world's largest hydroelectric plants.
Each of the main water turbines, <a href="/facts/State-of-the-art/yWnC7yQI">state-of-the-art</a> at their installation, has a capacity of 700 MW. Combining the capacity of the dam's 32 main turbines with the two smaller generators (50 MW each) that provide power to the plant itself, the total electric generating capacity of the Three Gorges Dam is 22,500 MW with minimal <a href="/facts/Greenhouse_gas_emissions/Cu9nXPHE">greenhouse gas emissions</a>. 
The dam enhances the Yangtze River's shipping capacity and provides <a href="/facts/Flood_control/rf0476SJ">flood control</a>, helping to protect millions of people from severe flooding on the <a href="/facts/Yangtze_Plain/S5MlP6Ae">Yangtze Plain</a>. Additionally, its hydroelectric power generation has helped fuel China's economic growth. As a result, the Chinese government considers the project a source of national pride and a major social and economic success. However, it is controversial domestically and abroad. Estimates of the number of people displaced by the dam's construction range from 1.13 million to around 1.4 million, and inundated ancient and culturally significant sites. In operation, the dam has caused some ecological changes, including an increased risk of landslides.

Three Gorges Dam open-in-new

Three Gorges Dam