Itaipu Dam retains world leadership in all-time energy production

Following over two decades of global leadership in annual power generation, the Itaipu Dam (located on the Paraná River on the border between Brazil and Paraguay) was overtaken by China's Three Gorges Dam. But no other hydroelectric power plant has generated as much energy as Itaipu has in its 30 years of existence.

At the end of December, Itaipu hit the 2.2 billion megawatt-hour (MWh) production mark, almost three times as much as Three Gorges, which has yielded 0.8 billion MWh since it began its operations in 2003.

Even other large plants that went into operation before Itaipu lag far behind. Second in the all-time production ranking is Venezuela's Guri, with 1.3 billion MWh since 1978, followed by US Gran Coullee's 1.2 billion MWh since 1941. Russia's Sayano comes fourth with 0.93 billion MWh since 1978, just ahead of Canada-based Churchill Falls (0.9 billion MWh since 1971). Three Gorges ranked sixth alongside Russia's Bratsk, which has been in operation since 1967. The seventh plant in the ranking is Brazil's Tucuruí with 0.78 billion MWh since 1984, the same year as Itaipu began its operations.

Despite its greater efficiency, Itaipu faces fierce competition with Three Gorges in terms of annual production. The Chinese-based plant has the world's largest installed capacity, 40% more than its Brazilian competitor (22,400 MW compared to 14,000 MW).

Unlike Brazil and Paraguay, where hydroelectric power is the main energy source, China is primarily coal-dependent. Still, Three Gorges reported its 2014 energy production enabled it to save 49 million tons of coal and avoid 100 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Translated by Mayra Borges