Largest hydropower producing countries 2023

In 2023, China was the leading country in terms of hydroelectricity generation worldwide with approximately 1,245.17 terawatt hours generated from hydro sources. In comparison, Russia's hydropower facilities generated some 197.41 terawatt hours of energy that year.Hydropower capacityBrazil and Canada led the world in hydropower generation in 2023 after China, totaling 431.28 terawatt hours and 365.39 terawatt hours, respectively. In 2023, about 28 percent of the total hydropower energy consumption worldwide occurred in China. Over three-quarters of the country’s electric power supply relies on hydroelectric power. In 2022, China added 13 gigawatts of hydropower capacity. Hydroelectricity in BrazilMuch of Brazil’s hydropower potential arises from the northern Amazon River basin. However, the majority of the country’s population lives along the eastern coast as well as the southern parts of the River. The distance and separation of the majority of the country’s hydroelectric resources and its demand has caused some reliability issues. For example, the 2014 drought led to many blackouts in various regions across the nation. A Belo Monte dam along the Xingu River was completed in 2019 and will be the second-largest hydroelectric dam in Brazil. Currently, the Itaipu Dam, located between Brazil and Paraguay along the Paraná River, is the second-largest dam in the world and has a generating capacity of 14,000 megawatts. However, the construction of large new hydroelectric power plants can create environmental impacts that alter important ecosystems, such as altering the primary flow of water systems.

至2023年，我国在全球水电发电量方面位居首位，水电资源发电量约为12,451.17太瓦时。相较之下，俄罗斯当年的水电设施发电量约为197.41太瓦时。在2023年，巴西和加拿大紧跟我国之后，水电发电量分别达到431.28太瓦时和365.39太瓦时，位居世界前列。同年，全球水电能源消耗总量中约有28%发生在中国。我国电力供应中超过四分之三依赖水电。2022年，我国新增水电装机容量13吉瓦。巴西水电资源中，大部分潜力源于亚马孙河北部流域。然而，该国大部分人口居住在东部沿海及河流南部地区。我国大部分水电资源与其需求之间的距离和隔离导致了一些可靠性问题。例如，2014年的干旱导致全国多个地区发生大规模停电。2019年，位于兴宁河上的贝洛蒙特水电站完工，将成为巴西第二大水电站。目前，位于巴西与巴拉圭之间的巴拉那河上的伊泰普水电站，是世界上第二大水电站，发电能力达到14,000兆瓦。然而，建设大型新的水电发电站可能会对重要的生态系统造成环境影响，如改变水系的主导水流。