Hydroelectricity in China

The Shilongba Hydropower Station is the first hydroelectric power plant in China.{{Cite journal |last=Ghosh |first=Arunabh |date=2023 |title=Multiple makings at China's first hydroelectric power station at Shilongba, 1908–1912 |journal=History and Technology |volume=38 |issue=2–3 |pages=167–185 |language=en |doi=10.1080/07341512.2022.2112295 |issn=0734-1512|doi-access=free }} 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.{{cite web|last1=Kang|first1=Xiaofeng|title=Hydropower Development in China History and Narratives|url=https://wle-mekong.cgiar.org/download/mk8-improving-hydropower-decision-making-processes-in-the-mekong/Annex%20II%20Hydropower%20Development%20in%20China%20History%20and%20Narratives.pdf|accessdate=1 November 2016|archive-date=5 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230105171558/https://wle-mekong.cgiar.org/download/mk8-improving-hydropower-decision-making-processes-in-the-mekong/Annex%20II%20Hydropower%20Development%20in%20China%20History%20and%20Narratives.pdf|url-status=dead}}

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.{{Cite book |last=Harrell |first=Stevan |title=An Ecological History of Modern China |publisher=University of Washington Press |year=2023 |isbn=9780295751719 |location=Seattle}}{{Rp|page=203}}

As of 2021, China operates four of the world's six largest dams.{{Rp|page=201}} These include the world's biggest (Three Gorges Dam, with 22.5 gigawatts capacity) and second biggest (Baihetan Dam).{{Rp|page=201}}

After completion of the Baihetan Dam in 2021, all planned large scale dams had been completed.{{Cite news|date=2020-07-03|title=China's Era of Mega-Dams Is Ending as Solar and Wind Power Rise|language=en|work=Bloomberg.com|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-03/china-s-era-of-mega-dams-is-ending-as-solar-and-wind-power-rise|access-date=2021-04-09}}

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.{{Cite web |date=9 August 2023 |title=New pumped-storage capacity in China is helping to integrate growing wind and solar power |url=https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=57360 |access-date=22 February 2025 |website=U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)}}

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.{{Cite web |date=16 August 2024 |title=China's Fengning Station: World's Largest Pumped Hydro Power Plant Sets New Global Benchmark |url=https://www.hydropower.org/news/chinas-fengning-station-worlds-largest-pumped-hydro-power-plant-sets-new-global-benchmark |access-date=21 February 2025 |website=International Hydropower Association}}

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.{{Cite web |date=26 December 2024 |title=China to build world's largest hydropower dam in Tibet |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/china-build-worlds-largest-hydropower-dam-tibet-2024-12-26/ |access-date=21 February 2025 |website=Reuters}}

Hydropower is considered a renewable and clean energy source.{{Cite web |last=Brigham |first=Katie |date=2022-06-02 |title=Why hydropower is the forgotten giant of clean energy |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/02/why-hydropower-is-the-worlds-most-overlooked-renewable.html |access-date=2022-08-06 |website=CNBC |language=en}} 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.{{Cite web |first=Nectar |last=Gan |date=2020-07-31 |title=China's Three Gorges Dam is one of the largest ever created. Was it worth it? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/world/asia/14iht-19dam-grwth4.8754477.html |access-date=2023-05-21 |website=CNN |language=en}}{{Cite web |first1=Beth |last1=Walker |first2=Liu |last2=Qin |date=2020-07-31 |title=The Hidden Costs of China's Shift to Hydropower

|url=https://thediplomat.com/2015/07/the-hidden-costs-of-chinas-shift-to-hydropower/ |access-date=2023-05-21 |website=The Diplomat |language=en}}{{Cite web |first=Jim |last=Yardley |date=2007-11-14 |title=Chinese dam projects criticized for their human costs |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/world/asia/14iht-19dam-grwth4.8754477.html |access-date=2023-05-21 |website=New York Times |language=en}} 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.

{{commons category|Hydroelectricity in China}}

• Renewable energy in China
• Solar power in China
• Wind power in China
• Geothermal power in China
• Bioenergy in China
• Renewable energy by country
• Electricity sector in China

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