In this article, we take a look at the 25 largest dams in the world. You can skip our detailed analysis of the hydropower industry and go directly to the 5 Largest Dams in the World.
Dams are an excellent source of renewable energy and, even though their construction has enormous social and economic costs including mass displacement of locals, their ability to prevent floods along with other environmental benefits of using hydropower makes them an ultimate necessity for all countries, especially those most affected by global warming. Currently, there are more than 57,000 large dams in the world which collectively produce approximately 4,300 TWh of hydropower. Hydroelectricity constitutes 40% of the world’s total renewable energy produced and makes up 16% of all electricity generated across the globe.
The largest dam in the world is the Three Gorges Dam in China, which has a famously large volume of 39.3 billion cubic meters and cost a whopping $37 billion to construct. China is the largest hydropower producer in the world with a generation capacity of 391 GW. This makes up approximately 28% of the total hydroelectricity produced in the world. China also has 6 out of the 25 largest dams in the world. The country is also the world’s largest consumer of electricity, followed by the United States and India.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam
One of the most important dams being constructed in 2023 is the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. It is Africa's largest hydroelectric plant that will generate 6,450 MW of hydroelectricity and has a construction cost of $4 billion. While the dam holds massive significance as a provider of reliable power to 60% of the Ethiopian population and as a step in the direction of Africa’s ‘green transition’ towards renewable energy, it has also threatened the supply of water to Egypt and Sudan downstream and caused both countries to raise an objection. Despite Sudan’s recent withdrawal of reservations over the GERD project, Egypt continues to protest the dam’s construction, even terming it an attempt to ‘Africanize’ the Nile.
Hydropower Generation Market Outlook
The global hydropower generation market has a value of $237.9 billion and is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.9% between 2023 and 2030. Globally, hydropower generation capacity is expected to increase by 17% by 2030, as per the International Energy Agency.
Companies Investing in Hydropower
One of the largest publicly listed US companies that operate renewable power infrastructure is Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (NYSE:BEP) with a market capitalization of $16.57 billion and an annual revenue of $4.7 billion in 2022. While hydropower production makes up half of the company’s portfolio and almost 75% of its annual revenue, Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (NYSE:BEP) is also known for the production and storage of wind and solar energy. At the end of the second quarter of 2023, Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (NYSE:BEP) announced its acquisition of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) for $1 billion, which has increased the company’s operating capacity of renewable power assets to 14,000 MW.
During the second quarter of 2023, Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (NYSE:BEP) failed to meet analysts’ expectations of both quarterly revenue and earning per share (EPS), with the former amounting to $719 million. Having estimated these circumstances earlier in the year, CIBC Asset Management Inc and Citigroup Inc. reduced their holdings in the company by 8.9% and 8.3% respectively. However, certain analysts expect the company’s earnings to increase in the future since it has managed to keep a positive Return-on-Equity (ROE) of 1.24% so far.
IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) is another hydropower generation company that operates 17 small-scale projects and has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion. During the second quarter of 2023, IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA)’s shares had a total value of $81.1 million and were held by 13 hedge funds. Among these, Millennium Management was the most significant hedge fund holder of IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA) with the total value of their acquired shares amounting to $45.89 million.
IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA)’s net income has grown by 3.3% during the last 5 years, which is less than half of the industry’s growth of 6.8% during the same time period. On the brighter side, IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA)’s Return-on-Equity (ROE) is comparable to that of the hydropower industry and the company has also exceeded analysts’ expectations with quarterly earnings of $413.8 million during the Q2 of 2023. As a result, Natixis Advisors L.P. has bought 10,980 additional shares of IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE:IDA), thus increasing its position by 28.3%.
25 Largest Dams in the World
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Our Methodology
We made our list of the 25 largest dams in the world by ranking them in the ascending order of maximum hydropower generating capacity. For this purpose, we acquired the data from World Economic Forum , among other sources.
Here are the 25 largest dams in the world by generation capacity of hydroelectricity:
25. Kariba Dam
Hydropower generation capacity: 1,626 MW
Kariba Dam is the 25th largest dam in the world by hydropower generation capacity and one of the 5 largest dams in the world by reservoir capacity. The dam is built on the Zambezi River and is mutually owned by Zimbabwe and Zambia.
24. Hoover Dam
Hydropower generation capacity: 2,080 MW
The Hoover Dam was built 87 years ago on the border of Nevada and Arizona to provide electricity for the United States’ territories towards the west. Currently, the dam meets the electricity demand of 8 million people in 3 states, and is essential for its supply of water to surrounding cities and desert farmland.
23. Aswan High Dam
Hydropower generation capacity: 2,100 MW
Egypt’s Aswan High Dam, locally called Saad el Aali, was built in 1970 on the Nile River at a total cost of $1 billion. Along with providing clean electricity to the people of Egypt, Aswan High Dam also irrigates the nearby agricultural land of Egypt and Sudan and regulates floodwater.
22. Chief Joseph Dam
Hydropower generation capacity: 2,620 MW
Chief Joseph Dam is constructed on the Columbia River, which is considered one of the most dammed rivers in the world, with more than 470 dams in its basin. It is the second-largest dam in the United States by hydropower capacity and is situated in the state of Washington.
21. W.A.C Bennett Dam
Hydropower generation capacity: 2,916 MW
Situated upon the Peace River within the British Columbia province of Canada, W.A.C Bennett Dam is one of the largest dams in the world by hydropower capacity. The dam project became operational 55 years ago and cost a hefty sum of $900 million in construction and power transmission.
20. Ilha Solteira Dam
Hydropower generation capacity: 3,200 MW
Ilha Solteira Dam is situated on Paraná River in São Paulo, Brazil. It is operated by China Three Gorges Corporation and, along with the Jupia Dam, generates an annual revenue of $632 million for the company.
19. Tarbela Dam
Hydropower generation capacity: 3,478 MW
Tarbela Dam is the largest earth-filled dam in the world and is considered the 5th largest structure in the world by volume. The dam has a reservoir capacity of 14.4 billion cubic meters and generates approximately 16% of Pakistan’s total electricity supply.
18. Ust-Ilimsk Dam
Hydropower generation capacity: 4,320 MW
Ust-Ilim Dam is built on Russia’s Angara River, which has two of the 25 largest dams in the world. It is a rock-fill dam and has been generating hydroelectricity for 49 years. The power plant comprises 18 units which generate 240 MW of hydropower each.
17. Bratsk Dam
Hydropower generation capacity: 4,500 MW
Bratsk Dam is a concrete gravity dam situated on the Angara River in Russia. With a reservoir capacity of 169 billion cubic meters, this dam is also the 4th largest dam in the world by reservoir volume.
16. Churchill Falls Dam
Hydropower generation capacity: 5,428 MW
Churchill Falls Dam is located in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada. The dam project is majorly owned by Nalcor Energy with Hydro-Quebec owning 34.2% of its shares.
15. Robert-Bourassa Dam
Hydropower generation capacity: 5,616 MW
Robert-Bourassa Dam, originally known as La Grande-2 Dam, is a part of the James Bay Project initiated by the government of Quebec, Canada. It is the largest dam in the country and the 15th largest dam in the world by hydropower generation capacity.
14. Nuozhadu Dam
Hydropower generation capacity: 5,850 MW
Nouzhadu Dam is the largest dam built on China’s Lancang River, which also has ten other hydropower plants situated on it. Along with power generation, Nouzhadu Dam is also essential for water regulation during periods of flood and drought.
13. Krasnoyarsk Dam
Hydropower generation capacity: 6,000 MW
One of the biggest dams in the world, Krasnoyarsk Dam is a concrete gravity dam in Divnogorsk, Russia, that has 12 hydropower generating units, each of which produces 500MW of electricity. Its reservoir has a storage capacity of 73.3 billion cubic meters.
12. Sayano-Shushenskaya Dam
Hydropower generation capacity: 6,400 MW
Sayano-Shushenskaya Dam is the largest dam in Russia and is situated on the Yenisei River. 70% of the hydropower generated by this arch-gravity dam is used for aluminum smelting in Siberia.
11. Longtan Dam
Hydropower generation capacity: 6,426 MW
Longtan Dam is situated on the Hongshui River in China and was constructed at a cost of $4.2 billion. It is a roller-compacted concrete (RCC) dam that has seven surface spillways and an underground hydropower station.
10. Xiangjiaba Dam
Hydropower generation capacity: 6,448 MW
Xiangjiaba Dam is a concrete gravity dam established on the Jinsha River in China. The dam had a total construction cost of $8.2 billion and also serves the purposes of irrigation, sand retention, and flood control.
9. Grand Coulee Dam
Hydropower generation capacity: 6,645 MW
Grand Coulee is built on the Columbia River in Washington, United States, and has the historical significance of supplying power that helped develop nuclear energy in the Second World War. Apart from being the largest producer of hydropower in the US, this dam also supplies irrigation water to 600,000 acres of land.
8. TucuruÍ Dam
Hydropower generation capacity: 8,370 MW
TucuruÍ Dam is the 8th largest dam in the world and the first large-scale dam constructed within the Amazon forest. It is also among the ten largest dams in the world by structural volume. It provides clean electricity to 13 million Brazilian people.
7. Wudongde Dam
Hydropower generation capacity: 10,200 MW
China’s Wudongde Dam has 12 generators which produce 39 billion kilowatt-hours of hydroelectricity every year. It is the first dam in the world to be constructed with low-heat cement that reduces temperature stress.
6. Guri Dam
Hydropower generation capacity: 10,300 MW
The Guri Dam was built 45 years ago in Venezuela upon the Caroni River. It has a reservoir capacity of 138 billion cubic meters and produces approximately 73% of Venezuela’s national electricity. Apart from power generation, the dam is used for floodwater storage and evacuation.
