The Three Gorges Dam - the world's largest hydroelectric project - has generated more than 1.7 trillion kWh of electricity.
This number marks the 30th anniversary of the Three Gorges Dam's construction as of December 14, 2024.
According to China's Ministry of Water Resources, the amount of electricity generated by the Three Gorges Dam is equivalent to saving 550 million tons of standard coal and reducing 1.49 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
The first hydroelectric unit of the Three Gorges Dam project was put into operation to generate electricity in July 2003.
In its operational history, the Three Gorges Dam has blocked floods nearly 70 times, demonstrating comprehensive benefits and contributions to high-quality economic and social development in China.
The Three Gorges Dam also improved navigation on the Yangtze River, with cumulative cargo volumes exceeding 2.1 billion tons and an average annual economic benefit of 34.4 billion yuan ($4.78 billion).
The Three Gorges Dam project has regulated and supplemented water to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River for 2,732 days, with a total water supply of more than 360 billion cubic meters, thereby helping to ensure the supply of drinking water and irrigation for the middle and lower reaches of China's longest river.
The existence of the Three Gorges Dam project has also improved the ecological environment in the Three Gorges Reservoir area. The daily wastewater treatment capacity has increased by 1.58 million tons. The forest and grass cover in key areas has increased, with the forest cover ratio exceeding 50%, thus improving the ability to conserve soil and water.
On December 14, 1994, the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River officially began construction and the dam was put into operation in 2009. Made of concrete and steel, the Three Gorges Dam is 2,355 meters long and the crest is 185 meters above sea level. The project used 27.2 million cubic meters of concrete (mainly for the dam wall), 463,000 tons of steel (enough to build 63 Eiffel Towers), and excavated 102.6 million cubic meters of earth. The dam wall is 181 meters above the rock foundation.
The Three Gorges Dam reservoir covers an area of over 1 million square kilometers. The Three Gorges Dam generates 11 times more electricity than the giant Hoover Dam in the United States.
With a huge amount of electricity generated, the dam's water volume is capable of producing 22.5 million kilowatts of electricity, and the Three Gorges Dam is said to provide most of the electricity for all of China.
Estimates of the total cost of the dam in China range from $25 billion and have soared to $37 billion by some calculations.
