China leads almost 25GW hydropower installation in East Asia, Pacific

The country added nearly 24 GW of hydropower in 2022.

East Asia and the Pacific installed 24,944 megawatts (MW) of hydropower capacity in 2022 with China accounting for 23,811 MW of the new additions, according to a report by the International Hydropower Association (IHA).

In the 2023 World Hydropower Outlook, the IHA said the region’s total hydropower capacity is now at 548 gigawatts (GW), generating 1,714 terawatt hours of electricity.

The region also installed 8,741 MW of pumped storage capacity in 2022, bringing the total to 84 GW.

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“Harnessing hydropower in the East Asia and Pacific region can significantly decrease regional fossil fuel reliance, contributing to carbon emission reduction, and fostering sustainable economic growth,” the report read.

China has an exploitable hydropower capacity of around 400 Gw to 700 GW due to its geographical features, whilst Myanmar could potentially be a significant hydropower exporter as it has an estimated exploitable capacity of around 100 GW.

The report added that Indonesia has around 80 GW of technical hydropower potential, of which 38 GW is economically feasible. Malaysia and Laos could also provide hydropower resources of around 20 GW each.