The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric gravity dam that spans the Yangtze River by the town of Sandouping, in Yiling District, Yichang, Hubei province, central China, downstream of the Three Gorges. The Three Gorges Dam has been the world's largest power station in terms of installed capacity (22,500 MW) since 2012. The dam generates an average 95±20 TWh of electricity per year, depending on annual amount of precipitation in the river basin. After the extensive monsoon rainfalls of 2020, the dam's annual production nearly reached 112 TWh, breaking the previous world record of ~103 TWh set by Itaipu Dam in 2016.
Small hydro is the development of hydroelectric power on a scale suitable for local community and industry, or to contribute to distributed generation in a regional electricity grid. Exact definitions vary, but a "small hydro" project is less than 50 megawatts (MW), and can be further subdivide by scale into "mini" (<1MW), "micro" (<100 kW), "pico" (<10 kW). In contrast many hydroelectric projects are of enormous size, such as the generating plant at the Three Gorges Dam at 22,500 megawatts or the vast multiple projects of the Tennessee Valley Authority.
The British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, operating as BC Hydro, is a Canadian electric utility in the province of British Columbia. It is the main electricity distributor, serving more than 4 million customers in most areas, with the exception of the City of New Westminster, where the city runs its own electrical department and portions of the West Kootenay, Okanagan, the Boundary Country and Similkameen regions, where FortisBC, a subsidiary of Fortis Inc. directly provides electric service to 213,000 customers and supplies municipally owned utilities in the same area. As a provincial Crown corporation, BC Hydro reports to the BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation, and is regulated by the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC). Its mandate is to generate, purchase, distribute and sell electricity.
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower. Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and also more than nuclear power. Hydropower can provide large amounts of low-carbon electricity on demand, making it a key element for creating secure and clean electricity supply systems. A hydroelectric power station that has a dam and reservoir is a flexible source, since the amount of electricity produced can be increased or decreased in seconds or minutes in response to varying electricity demand. Once a hydroelectric complex is constructed, it produces no direct waste, and almost always emits considerably less greenhouse gas than fossil fuel-powered energy plants. However, when constructed in lowland rainforest areas, where part of the forest is inundated, substantial amounts of greenhouse gases may be emitted.
Oroville Dam is an earthfill embankment dam on the Feather River east of the city of Oroville, California, in the Sierra Nevada foothills east of the Sacramento Valley. At 770 feet (235 m) high, it is the tallest dam in the U.S. and serves mainly for water supply, hydroelectricity generation, and flood control. The dam impounds Lake Oroville, the second-largest reservoir in California, capable of storing more than 3.5 million acre-feet (1.1×10^12 US gal; 4.3×109 m3).
The Ilısu Dam is a concrete-face rock-fill dam on the Tigris near the village of Ilısu and along the border of Mardin and Şırnak Provinces in Turkey. It is one of the 22 dams of the Southeastern Anatolia Project and its purpose is hydroelectric power production, flood control and water storage. When operational, the dam will support a 1,200 MW power station and will form a 10.4 billion m3 reservoir. Construction of the dam began in 2006 and was originally expected to be completed by 2016. As part of the project, the much smaller Cizre Dam is to be constructed downstream for irrigation and power. The dam has drawn international controversy, because it will flood portions of ancient Hasankeyf and necessitate the relocation of people living in the region. Because of this, the dam lost international funding in 2008. Most historical structures in Hasankeyf were moved to the new Hasankeyf prior to the filling of the dam. The dam began to fill its reservoir in late July 2019. Due to rainfall, the dam has achieved water levels up to 100m above the river bed and stored 5 billion cubic meters of water. The water level had reached an elevation of 498.2m on 1 April 2020.
Karnataka Power Corporation Limited is a company owned by the government of Karnataka, and is engaged in the Service of generating electrical power in the state of Karnataka in India. The modes for generation of electric power are hydroelectric, thermal, diesel, gas, wind and solar. The company was started on 20.07.1970 due to a vision of the Karnataka government for separate entities for generation and distribution of electric power. This was done, long before world bank dictated power sector reforms were initiated in early 21st century in India. Karnataka Power Corporation Limited began its journey with a humble beginning in 1970. With an installed capacity of 746 MW (1970), it has expanded its capacity to 8738.305 MW (2019). A revenue of Rs.77442 Million in 2019 as compared, to Rs.1.30 Million in 1971, speaks volumes about KPCL's progress.
Run-of-river hydroelectricity (ROR) or run-of-the-river hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric generation plant whereby little or no water storage is provided. Run-of-the-river power plants may have no water storage at all or a limited amount of storage, in which case the storage reservoir is referred to as pondage. A plant without pondage is subject to seasonal river flows, thus the plant will operate as an intermittent energy source. Conventional hydro uses reservoirs, which regulate water for flood control, dispatchable electrical power, and the provision of fresh water for agriculture.
The Baihetan Dam is a large hydroelectric dam on the Jinsha River, an upper stretch of the Yangtze River in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, in southwest China. The dam is a 289-meter-tall double-curvature arch dam with a crest elevation of 827 m, and a width of 72 m at the base and 13 m at the crest. It is considered to be the last large hydropower project in China after a series of projects starting with the Three Gorges Dam. It is also the second largest hydropower plant in the world. The hydropower station is equipped with 16 hydro-generating units that each have a capacity of 1 million kilowatts, making it the largest single-unit capacity globally. All hydro-generating units of the Baihetan hydropower station became fully operational on 20 December 2022.
According to the International Hydropower Association, Canada is the fourth largest producer of hydroelectricity in the world in 2021 after the United States, Brazil, and China. In 2014, Canada consumed the equivalent of 85.7 megatonnes worth of oil of hydroelectricity, 9.8% of worldwide hydroelectric consumption. Furthermore, hydroelectricity accounted for 25.7% of Canada's total energy consumption. It is the third-most consumed energy in Canada behind oil and natural gas.
Hydroelectricity is, as of 2019, the second-largest renewable source of energy in both generation and nominal capacity in the United States. In 2021, hydroelectric power produced 31.5% of the total renewable electricity, and 6.3% of the total U.S. electricity.
Isimba Hydroelectric Power Station is a 183.2 megawatts (245,700 hp) hydroelectric power station commissioned on 21 March 2019 in Uganda. Construction of this dam began in April 2015 and was completed in January 2019. Commercial operations began on 21 March 2019.
The Boyabat Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Kızılırmak River bordering Sinop and Samsun Provinces, Turkey. It is 8 km (5 mi) southwest of Durağan and 24 km (15 mi) southeast of Boyabat. Construction began in 2008 and the dam and power plant were completed in December 2012. Its primary purpose is to generate hydroelectric power. The dam's power plant has an installed capacity of 513 MW.
Basava Sagar Dam, previously known as Narayanpura Dam, is a dam constructed across the Krishna River at Yadgir District, Karnataka State, India. The reservoir that it impounds is known as Basava Sagar, and has a total storage capacity of 37.965 tmcft (1.075 km³), with 30.5 tmcft (0.85 km³) live storage. The full reservoir level is 492.25 m MSL and the minimum draw down level is 481.6 m MSL. It was a single purpose project meant only for irrigation, but downstream electrical generation and drinking water considerations enter into its management. The dam is 29 meters high and over 10.637 kilometres (6.610 mi) long, and has 30 gates for water release. 22 Spillway Gates are present in the Dam It took Rs. 50.48 crore to complete.
Hungary is a member of the European Union and thus takes part in the EU strategy to increase its share of renewable energy. The EU has adopted the 2009 Renewable Energy Directive, which included a 20% renewable energy target by 2020 for the EU. By 2030 wind should produce in average 26-35% of the EU's electricity and save Europe €56 billion a year in avoided fuel costs. The national authors of Hungary forecast is 14.7% renewables in gross energy consumption by 2020, exceeding their 13% binding target by 1.7 percentage points. Hungary is the EU country with the smallest forecast penetration of renewables of the electricity demand in 2020, namely only 11%.
The Lower Periyar Dam is a dam built on the Periyar River as part of the Lower Periyar Hydroelectric Project in Kanjikuzhi Panchayat, Idukki District, Kerala. The dam was built to generate electricity. The lower Periyar dam is at Pambla, five kilometres downstream from where Muthirapuzha merges with main river. This 32.36-metre-high dam made of concrete has a width of 284 meters. The powerhouse is at Karimanal, near Neriamangalam, where three generators are installed with a power production capacity of 60 MW each, or a cumulative 180 MW. The Dam was completed in the year 1998 Taluks through which release flow are Idukki, Kothamangalam, Muvattupuzha, Kunnathunadu, Aluva, Kodungalloor and Paravur.
