Country China
Location Sandouping, Yiling, Hubei
Coordinates 30°49′23″N 111°00′12″E
PurposePower, flood control, navigation
StatusOperational
Construction began December 14, 1994
Opening date2003[1]
Construction cost ¥180 billion (US$26 billion)
Owner(s)China Yangtze Power (subsidiary of China Three Gorges Corporation)
Dam and spillways
Type of damGravity dam
Impounds Yangtze River
Height181 m (594 ft)
Length2,335 m (7,661 ft)
Width (crest)40 m (131 ft)
Width (base)115 m (377 ft)
Spillway capacity116,000 m3/s (4,100,000 cu ft/s)
Reservoir
CreatesThree Gorges Reservoir
Total capacity39.3 km3 (31,900,000 acre·ft)
Catchment area1,000,000 km2 (390,000 sq mi)
Surface area1,084 km2 (419 sq mi)[2]
Max. length600 km (370 mi)[3]
Normal elevation175 m (574 ft)
Power station
Commission date2003–2012
Type Conventional
Hydraulic head
Rated: 80.6 m (264 ft)
Maximum: 113 m (371 ft)
Power generation
Nameplate capacity 22,500 MW
Capacity factor 45%
Annual generation 87 TWh (310 PJ) (2015)
Turbines 32 × 700 MW
2 × 50 MW Francis-type
The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric dam that spans the Yangtze River by the town of Sandouping, located in Yiling District, Yichang, Hubei province, China. The Three Gorges Dam is the world's largest power station in terms of installed capacity (22,500 MW). In 2014 the dam generated 98.8 TWh of electricity, setting a new world record by 0.17 TWh previously held by the Itaipú Dam on the Brazil/Paraguay border in 2013 of 98.63. But in 2015, the Itaipu power plant resumed the lead in annual worldwide production, producing 89.5 TWh, while production of Three Gorges was 87 TWh.
Except for a ship lift, the dam project was completed and fully functional as of July 4, 2012,when the last of the main water turbines in the underground plant began production. The ship lift was complete in December 2015.Each main water turbine has a capacity of 700 MW.[13][14] The dam body was completed in 2006. Coupling the dam's 32 main turbines with two smaller generators (50 MW each) to power the plant itself, the total electric generating capacity of the dam is 22,500 MW.
As well as producing electricity, the dam is intended to increase the Yangtze River's shipping capacity and reduce the potential for floods downstream by providing flood storage space. The Chinese government regards the project as a historic engineering, social and economic success, with the design of state-of-the-art large turbines, and a move toward limiting greenhouse gas emissions. However, the dam flooded archaeological and cultural sites and displaced some 1.3 million people, and is causing significant ecological changes, including an increased risk of landslides.The dam has been a controversial topic both domestically and abroad.