Overview
Itaipu Dam of Brazil-Paraguay is the largest dam by installed capacity in South America, built with a capacty of 14,000 MW. At second and third, are Belo Monte Dam with a capacity of 11,233 MW and Guri Dam at 10,235 MW.The installed capacities of major dams in South America range from 360 MW to 14,000 MW, with the average dam installed with a capacity of 4,947.7 MW.
Interactive Chart
Top 13 ranks, by installed capacity in descending order ( rank and segment full dataset - 113 items )
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Here are the largest dams by installed capacity in South America.
Completed in 1984, Itaipu Dam is a 38-year-old buttress dam. It is located in Foz do Iguaçu and Hernandarias, Brazil-Paraguay (South America).
Itaipu Dam is the 2nd largest hydroelectric dam in the world by installed capacity. The buttress dam stands at a height of 196 meters and impounds up to 29 billion m3 of water. Itaipu Dam has a structural volume of 12.30 million m3 and an installed capacity of 14,000MW.
Completed in 2016, Belo Monte Dam is a 6-year-old gravity dam. It is located in Pará, Brazil (South America).
Belo Monte Dam is the 2nd largest hydroelectric gravity dam in the world by installed capacity. The structural height of Belo Monte Dam is 90 meters while its structural volume of 25.36 million m3. The gravity dam can hold up to 1.89 billion m3 of water and has an installed capacity of 11,233MW.
Compare Belo Monte Dam with Ust-Ilimsk Hydroelectric Power Station from Russia.
Guri Dam, also known as Simón Bolívar Hydroelectric Plant, is located in Necuima Canyon, Bolívar, Venezuela (South America). The gravity dam was completed in 1978 (44 years old).
The installed capacity of Guri Dam is 10,235MW. The gravity dam stands 162 meters tall and can impound up to 135 billion m3 of water. Its structural volume is 29.80 million m3.
Compare Guri Dam with Bratsk Hydroelectric Power Station from Russia.
Located in Tucuruí, Pará, Brazil, Tucuruí Dam is a gravity dam. It was built in 1984 (38 years since completion).
Tucuruí Dam is the 3rd largest gravity dam in the world by reservoir volume. The gravity dam stands at a height of 78 meters and impounds up to 45 billion m3 of water. Tucuruí Dam has an installed capacity of 8,370MW.
Completed in 2016, Jirau Dam is a 6-year-old embankment dam. It is located in Rondônia, Brazil (South America).
Jirau Dam is the 3rd largest hydroelectric dam in Brazil by installed capacity. The installed capacity of Jirau Dam is 3,750MW. The embankment dam stands 63 meters tall and its structural volume is 2 million m3.
Compare Jirau Dam with Jindabyne Dam from Australia.
Compare Jirau Dam with Robert-Bourassa Generating Station from Canada.
Ilha Solteira Dam is located in Ilha Solteira, São Paulo, Brazil (South America). The embankment dam was completed in 1973 (49 years old).
Ilha Solteira Dam impounds the 2nd largest reservoir volume in Brazil. The embankment dam stands at a height of 76 meters and impounds up to 21.20 billion m3 of water. Ilha Solteira Dam has an installed capacity of 3,444MW.
Compare Ilha Solteira Dam with San Luis Dam from United States.
Completed in 1961, Macagua Dam is a 61-year-old embankment dam. It is also known as Antonio José de Sucre and is located in Ciudad Guayana in Bolívar State, Venezuela (South America).
The embankment dam has an installed capacity of 3,168MW. Macagua Dam stands 69 meters tall and can impound up to 0.36 billion m3 of water.
Dams Lists
Largest Dams by Installed Capacity (MW): world | Asia | Europe | North America | South America | USA | Canada | Australia | UK
Tallest Dams: world | Asia | Europe | North America | South America | USA | Canada | Australia | UK
Dams with Largest Structural Volume: world | Asia | Europe | North America | South America | USA | Canada | Australia | UK
Dams with Largest Reservoir Volume: world | Asia | Europe | North America | South America | USA | Canada | Australia | UK
Largest/tallest Dams by Type: Arch Dams | Embankment Dams | Gravity Dams | Arch-Gravity Dams | Buttress Dams