Hydroelectric Power & Energy
Electricity a renewable energy that is produced by the flow of water. Hydroelectric power plants have no waste byproduct and have a much smaller output of greenhouse gases than power plants powered by fossil fuels. Almost 20% of the world's energy supply comes from hydro-electricity.
The use of hydro-electricity is not a new concept. Ancient people used it for milling wheat and hydraulic machinery was combined with electrical generators by the late 19th century to produce power. With the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, the need for power was great. The first power plant was constructed in Northumberland, England in the late 1870s and the first power plant in the United States was built in the early 1880s near Niagara Falls. By the end of the 1880s, there were 200 hydroelectric power plants in the United States.
Hydroelectric power plants depend upon dams to supply them with water, and by the 1920s, the United States was producing almost 40% of all energy needs with hydroelectric power. Federal regulation and funding of hydroelectric power plants became necessary at this point, as development of dams and irrigation projects needed to consider flood control and navigation, which was an expensive endeavor.
Hydroelectric power plants work in much the same way as coal burning power plants to create energy. The power source is used to turn a turbine, which moves the electric generator motor, which produces the electricity. Coal power plants use steam to move the turbines and hydroelectric plants use falling water to turn them.
Some hydroelectric power plants generate energy by moving water between tanks by use of pumps. These pumped hydroelectric plants utilize times of low demand for electricity to pump the water into a higher tank so that when an increase in electrical demand occurs, the water is released back into the lower tank through a turbine.
Other means of hydroelectric power are produced by means of tidal power. With tidal power plants, energy is created based upon the rise and fall of water each day. Adding reservoir tanks to these types of hydroelectric power plants allow for generation of power through times of peak electrical demand. When a power plant does not have the capability or capacity for storage of water, a process known as run-of-the-water is employed.
Underground hydroelectric power plants utilize the difference in height that occurs naturally between two types of waterways. Typically, this is between a lake and a waterfall. A tunnel is built underground to take water that is stored in a high reservoir to the lowest point of an underground cavern in the tunnel and then onto the lower outlet.
There are many advantages to hydroelectric power. The first and perhaps most important one is the reduced need for fossil fuels such as oil and coal. These types of power plants also last much longer than those powered by fossil fuels last and often require fewer personnel to operate the plant.
While there is a small amount of carbon dioxide produced during the power plant construction, there is relatively none produced during the operation of a hydroelectric power plant. In comparison to all other energy sources, hydroelectric power produces the least amount of greenhouse gas.