U.S. Energy Information Administration, based on International Commission on Large Dams and IAEA Power Reactor Information System Note: Japan’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear facility has not operated since being shut down in 2011 and has not submitted a restart application. An estimated 62,500 power plants are operating around the world, with a total installed generating capacity of more than 6,000 gigawatts (GW) in 2015. The nine largest operating power plants in the world by capacity are all hydroelectric power plants. Four of the world’s ten largest power plants are located in China, and all four of those plants began operating in the past 13 years. The world’s largest dam, Three Gorges, is located on the Yangtze River and has a capacity of 22.5 GW. Hydroelectric power is the second-largest source of electricity in China, after coal, and accounted for 20% of the country’s total generation in 2015. South America is […]