Advantages And Disadvantages Of Small Hydropower

First, the use of hydro energy resource, which is still debatable if it’s renewable or nonrenewable, cannot always be suitable for flat or dry regions and in areas where natural disasters occur. So counties with natural disasters or regions that are not suited is most likely not going to have a hydropower, as mentioned in (Marmulla, 2001, p. 55), dams are unnatural effecting species like fish causing migrations because of habitat loss. This can lead to extinction of species, affecting many ecosystems, since the fish starts to migrate to different areas changing the population balance. For example, Nicola, Elvira,

A hydroelectric generator is a machine that uses mechanical energy to generate electricity, the hydroelectricity comes from a large volumes of falling water to create the mechanical energy. I will be constructing my own hydroelectric generator in order to show it is possible to create electricity using large volumes of water, enough power to light a light bulb.

Water turbines are near the oldest ways to run power without using fossil fuels. The new age had turned these into hydro turbines that generally reside in dams. These machines take similar shape to wind turbines. Hidden in the base of a dam, there is a very large turbine that, in a simple explanation, when water runs through it spins. With the energy used by the spinning turbo it is turned into different power sources that are stored into power cells. Way back in time, this idea was used in power mills. Those old spinning wheels on the side of houses that rotate with water pressure. The first power plant was constructed in 1879 at Niagara Falls, Canada. In the United States the first plant was in 1882 in Wisconsin. These extravagant machines seemed marvelous, but that is no longer the outcome. The current age hydroelectricity dams are currently being shut down for harmful aspects triggered from the giant production. Causing an environmental failure to marine life and habitats all around. The possible outcomes are: changing the oxygen levels in the water that cause organisms to perish; fluctuating water levels that cause different

Hydropower or hydroelectricity is one of the more mature forms of renewable energy technology and can be found in some form in over 160 counties ("Hydro Energy", 2016). Power is generated when the kinetic energy of flowing water from sources such dams, rivers or waterfalls is directed through water turbines which in turn create electrical energy. There are over 120 hydropower stations though out Australia generating 8% of total energy generation ("Hydropower", 2016).

From late 1960’s the demand of electricity started to increase and since then, the growth is gradually increasing until now. The population in the province has been growing three million per year since 1965 and it is predicted to keep growing in the future. The population growth causes scarcity of any resource. The supply of electricity from 1960’s till now was reasonably sufficient however, in the near future it has been predicted that the demand increases are growing faster than BC hydro can supply. Therefore, BC needs some other way to increase the supply of electricity and the substitute that BC hydro found is hydroelectricity (Site

In this paper I will be discussing the renewable technology Hydropower and the pros and cons of it. I will be using three separate articles from GREENR focusing on hydropower as a whole and some of the possible downsides of this technology in addition to the very noticeable positive effects from hydropower. The three articles mentioned are "Building BRIC: Carrieann Stocks takes a look at recent developments in hydropower across Brazil, Russia, India and China." (International Water Power & Dam Construction) (Jan. 2015), "Electricity Production from Hydroelectric Sources, Top Ten Countries, 2003/4." (Global Reference on the Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources Online Collection), and "Green streak." (Earth Island Journal) (Jun. 22, 2015). I will be discussing the possible reasoning behind some people not wanting to focus on this possibly very beneficial alternative and try to explain why “If Hydropower is available why don’t we use it?” Keywords: dams, turbine, hydroelectric, renewable resource, nonrenewable resource

Everything runs with electricity and it is produced by dams. Hydro-electric dams are very important nowadays as they supply a lot electricity. Society believes that hydro- electric dams are not very useful in the creation of electricity. Hydro-electricity is electricity which is produced by water. Canada is ranked second out of the world in the production of hydro-electricity and the hydro-electric dams produce 60% of Canada's total energy. There are about 933 hydro-electricity dams in Canada. Quebec has the most of these dams, there are 333 hydro-electric dams in Quebec. Hydro-electric dams are not an environmentally responsible form of generating energy. The hydro electric dams will cause droughts and floods, increase global warming, and

Hydroelectric is a form of energy it is a renewable resource. Hydroelectricity is the most important and widely used renewable source of energy. Hydroelectric relies on water, which is clean and renewable energy source. Renewable energy comes from natural resources. Non-Renewable energy source includes coal, oil and natural gas. Water is renewable because water continually recycles itself. To harness energy from flowing water, the water must be controlled; a large reservoir is created, usually by damming a river to create an artificial lake or reservoir. Water is channeled through tunnels in the dam. The energy of water flowing through the dam causes the turbines to turn and make the

The implications of this conclusion are positive for the electrification of Haiti. If this minigrid system is successful, it will provide great opportunities for improvements in standard of living. The viability of this minigrid system also demonstrates that alternative energy may be effective in Haiti and other similar countries. These countries should consider implementing minigrids or other renewable energy sources,

Hydropower became the source of generating electricity in the late 19th century. Electricity generated by hydro power plants is simply

Hydro electric energy is produced by the flow of water through turbines; dams are commonly used to build water up to release a concentrated rush of water through large turbines. It is a very energy efficient source being able to convert 90% of the energy that it processes; even fossil fuels can only save 50% of the power that it produces. Hydro energy can very easily be used in more areas in the United states with its abundance of available rivers. As it stands 75,187 dams currently exist in the country and only 3% are used to produce electricity, (the others are used to control water flow) and with just that 3% of dams 10% of the nation’s electricity is produced. The Hoover dam by itself provides power for the 8 million people living in Arizona, southern Nevada and southern California. Anywhere that there is a flow of water Hydro power can be harnessed through dams, and can be easily be managed to match the fall or increase in demand for power by regulating how much water flows through. Hydro power is currently the most popular form of renewable energy, and makes 97% of all electricity from renewable sources. With its ease of use, availability and efficiency Hydroelectricity shows its power and what it can offer to millions of people in the

Over 2,000 years ago, the Greeks used the water wheel to grind wheat into flour. They would put the wheel in the water and the flowing water would push the wheel, which was connected to a grinder that grinded the flour (Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy). This means before technology was developed, the idea of hydropower was being used by the Greeks with the wheel. Not only did they use the wheel in the water to grind wheat, they used the wheel to power textile mills, to saw wood, and to manufacture plants (Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy). The Greeks were more than 2,000 years ago and they thought of using water for energy. Hydropower has been around for more than a couple millenniums, but it wasn’t until the mid-1700’s that the modern hydropower turbines had a breakthrough. Bernard Forest de Béilidor, a French hydraulic and engineer, wrote the book Architecture Hydraulique, which started the evolution of hydropower (Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy). The concept of using water for energy has been around since the Greeks, but it wasn’t until Béilidor’s book that the modern world thought about making an efficient way to make hydropower. In 1849, James Francis invented the Francis Turbine, which is most commonly used today. (hydro.org/). Francis shaped the way modern society uses hydropower plants. It wasn’t until 1882, when the first hydroelectric power plant was running was in the Fox River, in Appleton, Wisconsin. (hydro.org/). One of the most famous and well known dams is the Hoover Dam, located in Colorado. The construction of the Hoover Dam began in 1931 and employed more than 20,000 workers during the Great Depression. The project of the Hoover Dam was completed in 1937 (http://www.hydro.org/tech-and-policy/history-of-hydr). In 1940, hydropower produced 40 percent of electricity to the United

Hydropower plants capture the energy of falling water to generate electricity. A turbine converts the kinetic energy of falling water into mechanical energy. Then a generator converts the mechanical energy from the turbine into electrical energy.

The first pro to having hydroelectric power is being green. “Green: hydropower is renewable and clean. The process of generation of electricity does not pollute and water can later be used for irrigation, human consumption, etc. Hydroelectric energy contributes to the sustainability of our planet.” The next, pro is having safety. Having safety is important. “Safety: hydropower is safe compared to nuclear energy and fossil fuels. Despite some accidents occurred in dams, usually hydroelectric power plants do not entail a great danger to humans.” The third, pro is Flexibility. “Flexibility: the water flow and, thus, the energy output can be regulated to adapt to the consumption needs and storage capacity.” The last, pro is Durability. Everything must be Durable. And lasting. Not to get tired and have “wear and tear”. “Durability: dams can produce energy for decades, and require little further investments once they are built.”

Myanmar has tremendous hydropower potential; however the majority of this potential has remained undeveloped due to the economic and political disturbances. The technical feasible potential from the major rivers and other potential water resources support the country as one of the renewable energy rich countries amongst its neighbouring, energy demand countries especially China, and India. Due to the increase in electricity demand of the domestic and cross border regional energy trade issues (Kattelus et al., 2015), the necessities for the extraction of the large hydropower resources should be fulfilled from the geopolitical perspective. In this chapter, the current situation and future potentials of hydropower resources basically storage type hydropower plants