The World’s 10 Largest Hydroelectric Dams

It is amazing to think how many of these really large hydroelectric projects have only taken place in the last several decades.

"Hydroelectricity is one of the fore-runners of the renewable energy industry, accounting for over 16% of global electricity production, with a predicted annual increase in production of 3.1%.  China is the current global leader in hydroelectric production with four dams on the top ten list, with total hydroelectric production accounting for 17% of domestic electricity use.  Hydroelectricity represents an attractive option in the renewable energy market given its relatively low cost, flexibility in terms of production relative to demand and lower output levels of greenhouse gas when compared with fossil fuel energy plants.

10. Robert-Bourassa
La Grande, Canada
This plant is part of Quebec’s James Bay Project and has a generating capacity of 5,616 MW. The dam is named after Premier of Quebec Robert Bourassa and was originally commissioned in 1981.

9. Krasnoyarsk
Yenisei River, Russia
This dam originally came online in 1972 and has been operating ever since. It’s located in Southern Russia and has a generating capacity of 6,000 MW.

8. Longtan Dam
Hongshui River, China
The Longtan Dam is the tallest of its type in the world and has a generating capacity of 6,426 MW. It’s relatively new, as it was only commissioned in 2007.

7. Grand Coulee
Columbia River, United States
Washington State’s Grand Coulee dam is a classic. It’s been around since 1933 and remains one of the biggest in the world. It has a generating capacity of 6,809 MW and is currently undergoing major overhauls.

6. Xiangjiaba
Jinsha River, China
This dam operates on a tributary of the Yangtze River and has a generating capacity of 6,400 MW. This dam is also very new, beginning operations in 2012.

5. Tucuruí
Tocantins River, Brazil
This dam was the first large-scale hydro power project in the Amazon rainforest. It was commissioned in 1984 and has a generating capacity of 8,370 MW.

4. Guri
Caroní River, Venezuela
The Guri Dam is huge. It is 7,426 meters long and 162 meters high. It’s also quite old, as it was commissioned in 1978. It currently has a generating capacity of 10,235 MW.

3. Xiluodu
Jinsha River, China
This dam has a generating capacity of 13,860 and also provides flood control for the region. It’s brand new, as it was only commissioned in 2013, and is operated by China Yangtze Power.

2. Itaipu Dam
Paraná River, Brazil/Paraguay
This dam occasionally has a higher generating output than the number one spot. With 14 GW of installed capacity it’s quite impressive. It also straddles the line between two countries, making initial negotiations difficult.

1. Three Gorges Dam
Yangtze River, China
Here it is: the big one. With a massive generating capacity of 22.5 GW, the Three Gorges Dam is the biggest hydro dam in the world. China had begun dreaming up this dam in 1919, and in 2008, it came alive. It’s a beast of a hydro dam and is a marvel of modern engineering."

Kevin Smead

The World’s 10 Largest Hydroelectric Dams:

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Tiny Spanish Island Nears Its Goal: 100 Percent Renewable Energy

Now this is what we need to be talking about when referencing the possibilities of the future with regards to renewable energy supply.  Wind supported pumped storage is something every system in the world, with storage backed hydroelectric power can exploit.  If you cannot pump, then simply curtail production when the wind is blowing.  When it is not, utilize the water that had been stored.  This is an old concept and an exisitng practice of hydroelectric companies.  However, rather than following the wind, they follow the rate at which the power is being paid for. If wind were ever to play a significant enough role in the energy mix, it would affect the price of energy, and effectively drive production or release of stored power.

Read the article below regarding El Hierro's ambitious and successful plan to cut off their need for fossil fuels with their combined wind and pumped-storage  facility.



It actually takes quite a lot of fossil fuel power to reach the tiny Spanish island of El Hierro. You have to catch a commercial jet flight, a propeller plane and then a ferry to reach what was once the end of the known world, before Columbus set sail.

But once you're there, there's no need for fossil fuels at all. The ancient island off the west coast of Africa is now a model for the future, within months of running on 100 percent renewable energy, which consists of a mix of wind and hydro-power.

El Hierro, the most remote of Spain's Canary Islands, is now billing itself as the world's first energy self-sufficient island that has never been hooked up to a power grid.

A Danish island, Samso, is also energy-independent, but was previously hooked up to the Danish grid and didn't make the change in isolation, like El Hierro.

Because of the topography of the surrounding seabed, El Hierro, an active volcanic island with a population of about 10,000, could never hook up to Spain's power grid.

Instead, it used big barges to ship in 6,600 tons of diesel fuel — the equivalent of 40,000 barrels of oil — each year, to power electricity generators. It was an expensive, time-consuming and dirty endeavor ... until now.

This past summer, El Hierro inaugurated the Gorona del Viento power plant, a $110 million wind and water turbine farm. By the end of this year, the plant will generate all of the island's energy needs of up to 48 gigawatt hours per year."

Tiny Spanish Island Nears Its Goal: 100 Percent Renewable Energy : Parallels : NPR: "

Quebec-Ontario electricity trade is smart, but not simple - The Globe and Mail

Quebec-Ontario electricity trade is smart, but not simple - The Globe and Mail:

Last week, Quebec’s and Ontario’s premiers announced their desire to work together on crucial issues, including climate change, interprovincial trade and infrastructure. It is very positive for Canada when our two largest provinces recognize the benefits of co-operation. We should certainly hope they succeed, but let’s also be mindful of the obstacles in their way

Especially interesting is the prospect of greater interprovincial trade in electricity. This would be a game-changer in Canada, and a very positive one. Quebec has a great deal of low-cost hydroelectricity available to export, and its current U.S. markets are becoming less interested in purchasing long-distance hydro power because of their own development of low-price shale gas. At the same time, Ontario’s economy continues to grow but has few options for increasing its electricity capacity at costs anywhere close to Quebec’s. So the idea of Ontario buying electricity from Quebec is obviously sensible.

Any idea that is so obviously sensible must have serious problems, and there are at least three that come to mind.

The first will be the pressures from within Ontario to resist importing cheaper Quebec electricity. It will be argued that Ontario has built a world-class nuclear industry and that refurbishing existing nuclear plants and building new ones is necessary to keep this expertise at home. The fact that approximately nobody in the rest of the world wants to purchase this expertise or the associated technology will be ignored, or perhaps held up as an example of how government needs to do more to sell these products. Other “anti-importers” in Ontario will argue along the lines of securing jobs and economic development – that building electricity capacity (of any kind) within Ontario keeps the projects and associated construction jobs at home.

Though they may be dressed up and spun differently, these arguments are nothing more than simple protectionism. Hopefully Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne will see this and focus on the bigger picture: In a world where Ontario needs electricity and Quebec has it in spades, it can only be good for Ontario to purchase it.

This brings us to the second obstacle, and it will come from la belle province. Quebeckers have no problem with selling their surplus electricity to Vermont and New York at prices that exceed the internal Quebec ones. Except in a few small industries, Quebec firms do not see themselves as competing with American ones.

But many won't want to make the same offer to Ontario, as they will see it as giving an advantage to competing firms. Indeed, Ontario will argue that having access to Quebec’s cheaper power will improve the competitiveness of its firms; so it’s only to be expected that Quebeckers will view the same transaction as causing their own competitive decline.

Again, these arguments are nothing more than raw protectionism, and hopefully Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard will resist them strongly. Quebec as a whole will benefit by selling its surplus power to any jurisdiction prepared to pay the price; it will also benefit if the consequent greater development in Ontario leads to more trade in other products between the two provinces, which is very likely.

The third obstacle is the toughest. Suppose Ontario and Quebec enter into a long-term partnership in which Ontario’s electricity needs are increasingly satisfied by Quebec’s production. This would be great for both provinces. But increasing Quebec’s electricity capacity means the construction of more hydro generating stations, and this will require more development in Quebec’s northern regions. This will certainly require the close involvement of First Nations communities.

First Nations communities will demand genuine consultation at every step of the project, and that close attention be paid to the project’s impact on the environment and on traditional hunting and fishing grounds. They will also demand a share of the income generated. The Quebec government will need to recognize the legitimacy of these demands and partner with the First Nations in a genuine and transparent manner. All of this is possible, but it is not simple.

To any objective observer from far away, greater electricity trade between Ontario and Quebec would appear to be a no-brainer. And it is. But there are real obstacles. We should all celebrate the fact that Premiers Wynne and Couillard are starting this much-needed conversation, and we should wish them all the luck in the world. They will need it.