Hydroelectricity in China

Hydroelectricity is currently China's largest renewable energy source and the second overall after coal. According to the International Hydropower Association, China is the worlds largest producer of hydroelectricity as of 2021. China's installed hydroelectric capacity in 2021 was 390.9 GW, including 36.4 GW of pumped storage hydroelectricity capacity, up from 233 GW in 2011. That year, hydropower generated 1,300 TWh of power, an increase of 68 TWh over 2018 when hydropower generated 1,232 TWh of power, accounting for roughly 18% of China's total electricity generation.
China's installed hydroelectric capacity in 2024 was 426 GW
Due to China's insufficient reserves of fossil fuels and the government's preference for energy independence, hydropower plays a big part in the energy policy of the country. China's potential hydropower capacity is estimated at up to 400 GW. There is therefore considerable potential for further hydro development.
As of 2015, hydroelectric plants in China had a relatively low productivity with an average capacity factor of 31%, due to seasonal variability of rainfall, rapid construction, and significant energy loss due to need for long transmission lines to connect remote dams in the mountainous south-west to demand in southern China.
Although hydroelectricity represents the largest renewable and low greenhouse gas emissions energy source in the country, the social and environmental impact of dam construction in China has been large, with millions of people forced to relocate and large scale damage to the environment.
The Shilongba Hydropower Station is the first hydroelectric power plant in China. It was built in Yunnan province in 1912, with a capacity of 240 kW. Due to the subsequent period of political and social instability, little additional progress was made in power infrastructure in the country at that time. The total installed capacity before the Japanese occupation was only about 10 MW. During the Japanese occupation several large scale hydroelectric projects were built, and total capacity reached 900 MW. Energy infrastructure however suffered heavy damage during the second World War, and the operational capacity after the war was only about 580 MW.
After the Chinese Communist Revolution of 1949, a program of dam construction was initiated. However, most of these dams were built for irrigation and not intended to produce electricity. Moreover, construction was carried out mostly by unskilled peasants. During this period, the steady supply of cheap domestic coal hindered the development of hydroelectricity. Installed hydroelectric capacity grew somewhat after the 1960s, with plants of growing size and complexity, reaching a total of 20 GW in 1980.
As of 2020, China had more than 150 dams with a generating capacity of at least 300 megawatts and total installed capacity of 369 gigawatts.
As of 2021, China operates four of the world's six largest dams. These include the world's biggest (Three Gorges Dam, with 22.5 gigawatts capacity) and second biggest (Baihetan Dam).
After completion of the Baihetan Dam in 2021, all planned large scale dams had been completed.
As of May 2023, China had an operational pumped-storage capacity of 50 gigawatts (GW), accounting for 30% of the global total. This capacity is projected to expand significantly, with 89 GW currently under construction. Additionally, developers are in the process of securing approvals, land rights, and financing for a further 276 GW, according to Global Energy Monitor.
In August 2024, China completed the Fengning Pumped Storage Power Station in Hebei province, now the world's largest pumped hydro facility with an installed capacity of 3.6 gigawatts (GW). Operated by the State Grid Corporation of China, the project began construction in June 2013 and was finalized on 11 August, 2024, upon the activation of its twelfth and final turbine unit.
In December 2024, Reuters reported that China had approved the construction of a hydropower dam on the lower Yarlung Zangbo River in Tibet, expected to be the world’s largest in terms of electricity generation capacity. The dam is projected to generate 300 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) annually, more than three times the output of the Three Gorges Dam.
Hydropower is considered a renewable and clean energy source. However large dams, such as the Three Gorges Dam or the Xiluodu Dam have had human and environmental impacts on the areas surrounding dam reservoirs, including erosion, flooding of farmland and destruction of fish breeding habitats. Then Prime Minister Wen Jiabao noted in a report to the National People's Congress in 2007 that dam building in China had displaced 23 million people over the years.