Photographs: Reuters.
The United States, China and Japan are the world's largest producers of electricity. India has the fifth largest electricity-generation capacity in the world. It has an installed capacity of over 152 gigawatts (1 gigawatt is equal to 1 billion watts).
Here's a look at the world's biggest power plants . . .
1. Three Gorges Dam (China)
Capacity: 18,460 MW
The Three Gorges Dam is the world's largest hydropower project.
Built on the Yangtze River in China, its construction began in 1994 and it will be fully operational this year. It is expected to produce as much as 22.5 gigawatts (GW) of power. In August 2009, the plant produced 18.3 GW, more than any other power plant in the world. The Three Gorges Dam is still under construction.
The world's 25 biggest power plants
Image: Itaipu power plant.Capacity: 14,750 MW
The second largest hydroelectric power plant on the Brazil-Paraguay border currently has over 20 generator units.
The world's 25 biggest power plants
Image: View of Guri dam and the Simon Bolivar Hydroelectric Power Station.Photographs: Jorge Silva/Reuters.
Capacity: 10,055 MW
Venezuela meets 82 per cent of its electricity needs from the Simon Bolivar Hydroelectric Power Station.
The world's 25 biggest power plants
Image: A cargo barge enters a lock of the Tucurui dam on the Tocantins River.Photographs: Paulo Santos/Reuters.
Capacity: 8,370 MW
Tucurui is the third largest power generator in Brazil, representing 10 per cent of Brazil's installed capacity.
The world's 25 biggest power plants
Image: A man fishes near Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s (TEPCO) Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant.Photographs: Toru Hanai/Reuters.
Capacity: 8,206 MW
Owned and operated by The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), Kashiwazaki-Kariwa is the largest nuclear generating station in the world by net electrical power rating.
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The world's 25 biggest power plants
Image: Bruce Power plant.Capacity: 6,830 MW
Bruce Power is Canada's first private nuclear generator.
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The world's 25 biggest power plants
Image: An aerial view of Russia's largest Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station.Photographs: Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters.
Capacity: 6,500 MW
Located on the Yenisei River in Russia, it is the largest power plant in Russia and the sixth-largest hydroelectric plant in the world.
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The world's 25 biggest power plants
Image: Aerial view of the Grand Coulee dam.Photographs: Reuters
Capacity: 6,495 MW
Grand Coulee is a gravity dam on the Columbia River in Washington. It is the largest electric power-producing facility in the United States and one of the largest concrete structures in the world.
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The world's 25 biggest power plants
Image: Longtan dam.Capacity: 6,426 MW
Longtan Dam is a large roller-compacted concrete (RCC) gravity dam on the Hongshui River in China.
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The world's 25 biggest power plants
Image: Krasnoyarsk dam.Capacity: 6,000 MW
The Krasnoyarsk Dam is a 124-metre (407 ft) high concrete gravity dam located on the Yenisey River in Divnogorsk, Russia.
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The world's 25 biggest power plants
Image: Zaporizhzhya plant.Capacity: 6,000 MW
The Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant on the bank of Kakhovsky reservoir is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
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The world's 25 biggest power plants
Image: Poryong plant.Capacity: 5,954 MW
The Poryong plant is operated by Korea Electric Power company. The world's sixth largest nuclear power producer, Korea operates 21 nuclear power plants commercially.
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The world's 25 biggest power plants
Image: Ulchin plant.Capacity: 5,900 MW
Ulchin is one among the 21 nuclear generating stations in Korea.
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The world's 25 biggest power plants
Image: Yonggwang plant.Capacity: 5,900 MW
The Yonggwang plant, one of the largest nuclear plants in Korea, has been operating six reactors since 1978.
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The world's 25 biggest power plants
Image: Taichung Power plant.Capacity: 5,834 MW
The Taichung Power Plant is the largest coal-fired power station in the world.
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The world's 25 biggest power plants
Image: Aerial view showing the six reactors at the Gravelines nuclear power.Capacity: 5,706 MW
The Gravelines Nuclear Power Station is the fifth largest nuclear power station in the world.
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The world's 25 biggest power plants
Image: Storage tank for liquefied natural gas at Futtsu Thermal Plant.Photographs: Toru Hanai/Reuters.
Capacity: 5,598 MW
The Futtsu Power Station is the second largest gas-fired power station in the world. The facility is owned by Tepco.
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The world's 25 biggest power plants
Image: Paluel plant.Capacity: 5,528 MW
Operated by EDF, the nuclear power station consists of four 1330 MWe class pressurised water reactors.
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The world's 25 biggest power plants
Image: Cattenom Nuclear Power Station.Capacity: 5,448 MW
The Cattenom Nuclear Power Station located in Lorraine is close to the city of Luxembourg.
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The world's 25 biggest power plants
Image: Site of the Lower Churchill Hydro Project.Photographs: Reuters.
Capacity: 5,429 MW
It is a hydroelectric power station located on the Churchill river.
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The world's 25 biggest power plants
Image: Bourassa plant.Capacity: 5,328 MW
The Robert-Bourassa generating station (formerly known as La Grande-2) is a hydroelectric power station on the La Grande River. It is Canada's largest hydroelectric power station.
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The world's 25 biggest power plants
Image: A power station staff worker walks past a steam-turbine power generator in the Waigaoqiao.Photographs: Aly Song/Reuters.
Capacity: 5,160 MW
The Waigaoqiao Power Station in Shanghai, is the second largest coal power station in the world, and the largest thermal power station in China.
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The world's 25 biggest power plants
Image: Guodian Beilun Power Station.Capacity: 5,000 MW
The Guodian Beilun Power Station is the largest thermal power station in China, with an installed capacity of 5,000 MW.
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The world's 25 biggest power plants
Image: Kawagoe Power Station.Capacity: 4,802 MW
Kawagoe Power Station is a large gas-fired power station in Kawagoe. The facility operates at an installed capacity of 4,802 MW, making it the largest power station of its kind.
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The world's 25 biggest power plants
Image: Surgut power station.Capacity: 4,800 MW
The Surgut-2 Power Station is the largest oil-fired power station in the world with an installed capacity of 5,200 MW in 2011. Surgut-1 Power Station is the third largest oil-fired power station in the world.
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