Three Gorges Project

Three Gorges Dam 长江三峡水利枢纽工程
The dam in September 2009
Location in China
Country	China
Location	Sandouping, Yiling, Hubei
Coordinates	30°49′23″N 111°00′12″E / 30.82306°N 111.00333°E / 30.82306; 111.00333Coordinates: 30°49′23″N 111°00′12″E / 30.82306°N 111.00333°E / 30.82306; 111.00333
Purpose	Power, flood control, navigation
Status	Operational
Construction began	December 14, 1994
Opening date	2003
Construction cost	¥180 billion (US$27.6 billion)
Owner(s)	China Yangtze Power (subsidiary of China Three Gorges Corporation)
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Gravity dam
Impounds	Yangtze River
Height	181 m (594 ft)
Length	2,335 m (7,661 ft)
Width (crest)	40 m (131 ft)
Width (base)	115 m (377 ft)
Spillway capacity	116,000 m3/s (4,100,000 cu ft/s)
Reservoir
Creates	Three Gorges Reservoir
Total capacity	39.3 km3 (31,900,000 acre·ft)
Catchment area	1,000,000 km2 (390,000 sq mi)
Surface area	1,084 km2 (419 sq mi)
Maximum length	600 km (370 mi)
Normal elevation	175 m (574 ft)
Power station
Commission date	2003–2012
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 gross output	87 TWh (310 PJ) (2015)
Turbines	32 × 700 MW 2 × 50 MW Francis-type

Rated: 80.6 m (264 ft)
Maximum: 113 m (371 ft)

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 terawatt-hours (TWh) and had the world record, but was surpassed by Itaipú Dam that set the new world record in 2016 producing 103,1 TWh.

Except for the locks, 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. 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. China regards the project as monumental as well as a success socially and economically, 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 controversial both domestically and abroad.