The forecasts of all analysts suggest that the world's energy consumption will only grow. At the same time, the growth of its production is associated with the development of "green" energy, which uses the resources of water, wind and the sun. And today we’ll talk about the most powerful power plants in the world that use different resources.
General information
The modern fuel balance of electricity production in the world is as follows. 67% of global electricity production comes from hydrocarbon sources: 41% from coal, 22% from gas, 4% from oil and its products. Hydropower and other renewable resources account for 22% of the world's electricity generated, 11% - the share of nuclear energy. And yet, the most powerful power plants in the world remain hydropower plants.
Humanity has only one way in this direction - the development of stations on renewable resources and the gradual replacement of the withdrawn capacities of stations operating on non-renewable resources. We will talk about the most powerful stations of our time in this article.
The indestructible power of water
The first five of the most powerful power plants in the world are exclusively hydroelectric power stations. And only in 6th place does a peaceful atom appear , but about it later. So, the rating of the most powerful hydropower plants in the world:
- In the first place is the Three Gorges hydroelectric station on the Yangtze River in China (in the main photo). It produces 20% of the total energy of China, the capacity of its 34 turbines is 22.5 GW. The work of this station increased the duration of Earth days by 0.06 seconds. According to NASA, our planet has slightly flattened at the poles as a result of the fact that at this station 39 billion kilograms of water rises 175 meters above sea level.
- In second place is one of the wonders of the modern world, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers, Itaipu HPP. This Brazilian-Paraguayan station on the Parana River is equipped with 20 turbines with a total capacity of 14 GW. Two countries operate it, while Paraguay receives 71.4%, and Brazil 16.4% of the generated electricity.
- Silod HPP is also located on the Yangtze River, China. Its 18 turbines of 700 MW each give a total capacity of 13.860 GW.
- Hydroelectric power station Guri named after the hero of Venezuela Simon Bolivar. The capacity of this station is 10.235 GW, and with its construction the 11th largest artificial lake in the world was formed.
- Closes the five hydroelectric power station "Tucurui", Brazil. Her dam across the Tokantis River stretches 11 kilometers, up to 78 meters high. Its 20 turbines provide 8.370 GW of power.
our pride
The largest hydroelectric power station in Russia is the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric station named after P. From Neporozhny on the Yenisei River. Its installed capacity is 6.4 GW. Its dam is 245 meters high and 1074 meters long. It was commissioned back in 1985, but today it remains our pride.
In total, 13 hydropower plants with declared capacities of more than 1 GW are operating in our country, and this is a fairly high global figure.
Sixth position - for a peaceful atom
This is the most powerful nuclear power plant in the world - Kashiwazaki-Kariva, located in Japan. In 2007 there was a major accident, radioactive water fell into the sea. The station was closed, but by 2011 it was completely restored.
The installed capacity of the most powerful power plant in the world using atomic decay energy is 8 GW, which is ensured by the operation of four reactors.
For comparison, Russia 's largest nuclear power plant is the Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant in the Saratov Region. Its 4 GW power is provided by the operation of four power units.
The layout may change
In the near future, it is planned to commission three major competitors in the ranking of the most powerful power plants in the world.
In 2019, Belu Monti hydroelectric power station in Brazil, partially commissioned in 2016, is due to start operating at full capacity of 11.233 GW.
In 2021, the Chinese promise to launch the Baykhetan hydroelectric station with an installed capacity of 16 GW. And in 2022 - the Unude hydroelectric station with a capacity of 10.2 GW.
Us wind helper
The most powerful wind farm in the world is the Chinese Gansu. Its capacity is 7.9 GW, and by 2020 it is planned to increase to 20 GW.
Wind stations have many advantages, but the main minus is that small stations are not economically viable. In Russia, the largest such station will occupy an area of 133 hectares and will be located in the Rostov region. Its capacity is 0.9 GW, and the investor company promises to launch it in 2020. By the way, the project cost is 10 billion rubles.
The sun shines for us not in vain
The most powerful solar power station in the world is the Topaz Solar Farm in California (USA). It was commissioned in 2014. Plates of 25 square kilometers provide unprecedented power for such stations at 0.55 GW.
The second and third largest stations are also located in the United States. This is the Agua Caliente Solar Project, with a capacity of 0.251 GW. And the California Valley Solar Ranch with a capacity of 0.025 GW.
The largest in Russia is the Orsk Solar Photo Power Plant named after Alexander Vlaznev in the Orenburg region. Its capacity is 0.025 GW, one hundred thousand panels occupy 80 hectares.
And yet
Alternative energy is good. But fossil fuel stations continue to contribute to energy production.
The most powerful thermal power station in the world is Tuoketuo, China. The station uses coal, which is mined 50 km from it. The total capacity is 6.6 GW. In addition to the 5 main power units, there are 2 additional ones - they generate up to 600 MW for the needs of the station itself.
Behind her is again the Chinese station Taichung TPP in Taiwan, with a capacity of 5.824 GW.
But in third place in the world’s most powerful carbon-fueled power plants, the Russian Surgut State District Power Station-2 with a capacity of 5.597 GW appears. The station runs on associated petroleum and natural gas (70/30 ratio).
What lies ahead
According to forecasts of specialists in the field of energy, the following trends in the development of this industry await humanity.
- By 2035, the demand for energy in the world will grow by 30%.
- Although attention to the development of green energy is changing the general picture regarding primary energy resources, hydrocarbon fuel will retain its leading position until 2035.
- Power generation guarantees two-thirds of the global increase in primary energy resources.
- Demand for gas will accelerate growth by surpassing coal and oil. This will lead to the formation of a global gas market that will replace the oil one.
- In this vein, until 2035 Russia will remain the world's largest producer and will provide 11% of the world's fossil fuel production. In terms of hydrocarbon production, our country will be second only to the United States and Saudi Arabia.
- In Russia, nuclear energy consumption will increase by 17%, and hydropower consumption by 14%.
Summarize
Scientific and technological progress requires ever greater energy costs. The general direction of economic development towards the greening of production also affected the energy sector. And while our rating does not have so many Russian energy production facilities, our country has enormous potential for the development of hydropower and other "green" types of energy production.