Largest hydroelectric power facilities worldwide 2021

As of 2021, the world's largest hydroelectric dam based on generation capacity was the Three Gorges dam built on Yangtze River in China. The dam was equipped with 34 turbo generators and the power plant had a power generation capacity of 22.5 gigawatts.

 Hydropower in China

China is by far one of the strongest supporters of hydroelectric energy in the world. It is one of the cheapest energy facilities to maintain due to low operation costs. In 2019, China generated 1.3 petawatt hours of electricity from hydropower. In 2020, China accounted for 30.8 percent of global hydropower consumption. Four of the world’s top ten largest hydroelectric dams are located in China; two more major hydroelectric projects are currently under construction in the country.

Hydropower in the United States

In the United States, the average expense for operating a hydroelectric power plant was about 12.71 mills per kilowatt hour in 2020. As of that year, the United States was the fourth largest consumer of hydropower.