Three Gorges Dam – The Largest Hydroelectric Power Station

After the Great Wall of China and the Grand Canal, China is building the largest hydroelectric power station in the world, in terms of capacity. The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric dam spanning the course of the river Yangtze in Yichang, Hubei, Sandouping, China. This mammoth project undertaken by China is expected to increase the dam’s total electricity generating capacity to 22,500 megawatts – highest in the world.

Made of 28,000,000 cubic meters of concrete and 463,000 metric tones of steel, as would be required for 63 Eiffel Towers, the Three Gorges Dam walls are 185 meters high and about 2,335 meters long. The wall is 40 meters wide on top and extends 115 meters on the bottom. The Dam’s reservoir is 1.12 kilometers wide and 600 kilometers long on average and encloses a capacity of 39.3 billion cubic meters of water at a level of 175 m. With several generators yet to be installed, the Dam is expected to start operations by 2011.