Itaipu Dam, on the Brazil–Paraguay border, was once the world's largest power station by installed capacity.
The Itaipu hydroelectric project spans the Paraná River near Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil and Ciudad del Este in Paraguay. Construction began in the 1970s, and the final generating unit entered service in 2007. The plant has 20 generating units, each rated at 700 megawatts, for a total installed capacity of 14,000 megawatts.
Itaipu held the world capacity record until China's Three Gorges Dam surpassed it. Even after losing that record, Itaipu remained one of the world's most productive power stations because of the Paraná River's substantial flow. Its electricity is shared between Brazil and Paraguay under a bilateral treaty.
The dam is a renewable-energy facility because it uses moving water rather than burning fuel. It is not the same as Three Gorges, which has greater installed capacity, and it should not be confused with a dam's reservoir energy storage, which is measured separately from generating capacity.