Here are some of the largest hydropower projects in China, both operational and under development — ranked mainly by installed capacity (in megawatts, MW) and impact:
Existing Largest Hydropower Stations (by Installed Capacity)
1. Three Gorges Dam – World’s largest operational hydropower plant
- Capacity: ~22,500 MW (22.5 GW)
- River: Yangtze
- Hubei Province, Central China
- Completed in stages from 2003–2012; remains the world’s largest hydroelectric facility by installed capacity.
2. Baihetan Dam – Second largest in China and the world
- Capacity: 16,000 MW (16 GW)
- River: Jinsha (upper Yangtze)
- Sichuan/Yunnan provinces
- All generating units fully operational as of late 2022; part of China’s giant “clean energy corridor.”
3. Xiluodu Dam
- Capacity: ~13,860 MW
- River: Jinsha
- Sichuan/Yunnan
- One of the largest hydroelectric stations globally and a key part of the cascade system on the Jinsha River.
4. Wudongde Dam
- Capacity: ~10,200 MW
- River: Jinsha
- Sichuan/Yunnan
- Major dam in the Jinsha cascade; fully commissioned in 2021.
5. Xiangjiaba Dam
- Capacity: ~7,798 MW
- River: Jinsha
- Yunnan/Sichuan
- Another large dam in the cascade above Shanghai’s power grid.
Other significant plants include Gezhouba Dam (~2,715 MW), Longtan Dam, Nuozhadu Dam, Jinping II, Laxiwa, and Xiaowan, each contributing substantial renewable power to the grid.
Together, many of these dams — especially the cascade of Three Gorges, Gezhouba, Xiluodu, Xiangjiaba, Wudongde, and Baihetan — form one of the world’s largest hydropower corridors spanning river systems in central and southwestern China.
Future / Under-Construction Mega Projects
Medog (Yarlung Tsangpo) Hydropower Station – Future world-largest
- Planned capacity: ~60,000 MW (60 GW) — ~3× Three Gorges
- River: Yarlung Tsangpo (upper Brahmaputra)
- Tibet Autonomous Region
- Construction began in July 2025; commercial operations expected in the early 2030s.
- If completed as planned, it will become the largest hydropower facility in the world by installed capacity and annual generation.
This mega-project — involving multiple cascade stations on the Yarlung Tsangpo as it cuts through the Tibetan plateau — is part of China’s strategy to expand renewable energy capacity and electrification in the southwest.