Now in its eighth edition, the 2021 Hydropower Status Report is published as the world continues to grapple with the Covid-19 pandemic.
The report compiled by the International Hydropower Association (IHA) finds that:
• Global installed hydropower capacity rose by 1.6 per cent to 1,330 gigawatts in 2020.
• The sector generated a record 4,370 terawatt hours of clean electricity last year.
• During 2020, projects totalling 21 GW were put into operation, up on 2019’s 15.6 GW.
• Nearly two-thirds of global growth came from China, which saw 13.8 GW of new capacity. Among other countries that added new capacity, only Turkey (2.5 GW) contributed more than 1 GW.
• Major projects completed include the 2.1 GW Lauca facility in Angola, the 1.8 GW Jixi pumped storage facility in China and the Ilisu (1.2 GW) and Lower Kaleköy (0.5 GW) projects in Turkey.
• The single biggest project was Wudongde in China, which put eight of its 12 units online, adding 6.8 GW to the Chinese grid.
• China remains the world leader in respect of total hydropower installed capacity with over 370 GW. Brazil (109 GW), the USA (102 GW), Canada (82 GW) and India (50 GW) make up the rest of the top five.
