Madhumitha Jaganmohan
Research expert covering climate and environmental sustainability
Get in touch with us nowLargest hydropower producing countries 2020
In 2022, Russia's hydropower facilities generated some 209 terawatt hours of energy. China was the leading country in terms of hydroelectricity generation, capacity and number of new developments.
Much 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 runs between Brazil and Paraguay along the Paraná River. It 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.
Hydropower capacity
Brazil and Canada lead the world in hydropower generation in 2020 after China, totaling 391 terawatt hours and 382 terawatt hours, respectively. In 2020, about 30 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. As of that year, China planned to add 12.6 gigawatts of hydropower capacity.Hydroelectricity in Brazil
Much 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 runs between Brazil and Paraguay along the Paraná River. It 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.
