YICHANG - Four large hydropower stations run by China Three Gorges Corporation generated 206.06 billion kwh of electricity in 2016, the highest on record, the company said Monday.

It is the first time annual generation has exceeded 200 billion kwh. The amount generated is able to meet Shanghai's electricity needs for two years and is equivalent to a reduction of 65.8 million tons in coal burned, cutting 168.8 million tons of carbon dioxide and 800,000 tons of sulfur dioxide emissions.

The Three Gorges hydropower project, the country's largest with a generating capacity of 22.4 gigawatts, is located in the middle reaches of China's longest river, the Yangtze. It generated 93.5 billion kwh of electricity last year.

Xiluodu, the country's second-largest dam, generated 61 billion kwh and Xiangjiaba, China's third-largest hydro power plant, generated 33.2 billion kwh. The smaller Gezhouba generated 18.3 billion kwh.