In 2012, the Three Gorges Dam in China took over the #1 spot of the largest hydroelectric dam in electricity production, replacing the Itaipú hydroelectric power plant in Brazil and Paraguay. The Three Gorges Dam has a generating capacity of 22,500 megawatts compared to 14,000 MW for the Itaipu Dam. Even though the dam produces a lot electricity, the dam is hurting the environment as well. The environmental impacts of the project are profound, and are likely to get worse as the time goes on. The submergence of hundreds of factories, mines, and wastes dumps, and the presence of massive industrial centers upstream are creating a festering bog of effluent, silt, industrial pollutants and rubbish in the reservior. Erosion of the reservoir and downstream riverbanks is causing landslides, and threatening one of the worlds biggest fisheries in the East China Sea. While Three Gorges is the worlds biggest hydro project, the problems at Three Gorges are not unique. Around the world, large dams are causing social and environmental devastation while better alternatives are being ignored.
http://www.internationalrivers.org/campaigns/three-gorges-dam
