Three Gorges Dam Development and Reform Commission of China, 366 grams of coal would produce 1 kWh of electricity during 2006. At full power, Three Gorges reduces coal consumption by 31 million tonnes per year, avoiding 100 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, millions of tonnes of dust, one million tonnes of sulfur dioxide, 370,000 tonnes of nitric oxide, 10,000 tonnes of carbon monoxide, and a significant amount of mercury. Hydropower saves the energy needed to mine, wash, and transport the coal from northern China. From 2003 to 2007, power production equaled that of 84 million tonnes of standard coal, reducing carbon dioxide
Three Gorges of Hubei Province (), in the middle of Xiling Gorge. On May 20, 2006, the reservoir dam was completed, and the water level quickly reached the initial level of above the downstream river. The project was completed by the end of 2008, with a ship lift completed in 2015. The dam and Three Gorges Reservoir has had a massive impact on the region's ecology and people, involving the mass relocation of towns and villages. The higher water level has changed the scenery of the Three Gorges so that the river is wider and the mountains appear lower. However, the mountains