How Does Hydroelectricity Work?

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).

Moving into the next renewable energy, there is a big advantage that hydroelectric power is that hydropower dams is a huge renewable resource and using water to create electricity has no carbon footprint. As well as there is less pollution from it overall. There are many advantages but there are two distinct disadvantages, one of them being the cost to build an electric power station. The cost

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

5. Water energy (Hydroelectric power) plants use water in a different way, converting the energy in falling water into electricity by passing it through turbines. Fuel Extraction and Production – Water is a critical resource for the drilling and mining of natural gas, coal, oil, and uranium. Pros: 1. Green 2. Reliable. 3. Flexible Cons: 1. Droughts 2. Limited Reservoirs 3. Expensive

The topic I have chosen is Picher Mine, Picher Mine is a Lead and Zinc Mine that is located in Oklahoma, USA. Picher is known as a ghost town or the most toxic place in America, its mine was one of the most productive lead and zinc mining areas

A more advanced version of hydropower is hydroelectric power. It is the electricity created by water. For example, when the waterwheel receives water pressure, it begins to turn. Connected to a motor, the wheel begins to generate energy. Eventually, the power is dished out and distributed

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

I feel that hydroelectric energy would be the most beneficial for the city of Memphis. The reason I feel that hydroelectric energy would be helpful for Memphis because Memphis is located along the Mississippi river. So it would make most sense for us to use hydroelectric energy because there is a huge river in our city. We would not run out of recourses for a very long time, because water is renewable. We would have easy access to the water and we would have enough of it to power the whole city.

Moving into how this energy source is used, i'm going to be sharing how the power is made. First, there has to be a dam that goes in a river. Next, the water going through the dam goes into turbines. As the water goes into

First, dams block the water from moving downstream so it collects at the top of the dam. When they open the gates or intakes water rushes into a channel called the penstock. A penstock is a channel for conveying water to a waterwheel or turbine. From the penstock it travels to the turbine where it pushes past the turbine were the flow of the water causes the turning of the turbine blades. So, from the flow of the water downwards to it turning the turbine it is transferring from kinetic energy to mechanical energy. The water will then move out of the dam and continue to travel downstream. A shaft is connected from the turbine to the generator so when the turbine is spinning so is the generator. The generator uses a electromagnetic field to convert the mechanical energy so the energy is now electrical. Today modern dams can convert the water energy into 90% of

These energy also can help people by giving them job opportunities! The plants the consume these energy are quite large, so they can provide jobs for millions of people. "Renewable sources can cost less than consuming the local electrical supply. The price of electricity is expected to soar since they are based on the price of crude oil, so renewable sources can cut your electricity bills. The cost of setting these plants to consume energy can be very costly, they are usually then million up to billions. The energy from the sun, which is called solar energy, cannot be consumed at night time or raining seasons, but can be only used at sunny days. Summer is the best these solar panels can perform. Hydroelectric is collecting electricity from water. Building a dam is super expensive, and can also affect wild life and affect natural river flow. To consume wind energy, the building site has to be where there are strong winds, often by the ocean, or between two mountains. It can also affect the bird population, because they are really

One of those reasons was hydroelectricity. The dam began its power plant service on September 12, 1936. To produce hydroelectricity the workers needed to build 17 turbines. These turbines now give electricity to about 1.3 million homes between Arizona, Nevada, and California. California receives 55.91 percent of the electricity produced. Nevada receives 25.14 percent of the electricity produced. Arizona receives 18.95 percent of the electricity produced. These turbines produce about four billion kilowatts of electricity every year. Another reason for building the dam is that it provides water for the surrounding areas. A final reason the dam was built was to stop the flooding of the Colorado River. This protected the houses and the surrounding farmland from getting flooded and

To elaborate, dam is one of major parts to discuss about firstly. The process of a dam is to store water by creating a large reservoir. This reservoir could be a lake or any other natural water source. The dam is most likely located at higher level ground than the turbines of the power plant. The dam contains gates at its bottom to control the water flow. As the gates open, the water stored in the dam flows downstream as gravity pulls everything down or towards the earth’s surface. The falling water goes through a pipeline called penstock. This pipeline leads to the turbines in the hydroelectric power plant. Much water flow in the pipeline means greater pressure from water. As the water comes down the pipeline, it hits the blades of the turbines and makes it rotate simultaneously. The speed of the rotational blades depends on the speed of the water flow. As a result, much pressure of water flow will rotate the blades with a higher force and vice versa. Francis Turbine is the turbine that is most common for building hydroelectric power plant. This type of turbine looks like a big

There has been much controversy over changes in the environment due to the placement of hydroelectric dams, and also due to the pollution caused by other power plants which use non-renewable sources of energy. The arguments which come from certain groups against both sides seem rather strange. The purpose of this paper is to explore the environmental and other effects from both energy sources, and the arguments which are presented by different groups who lobby for and against the two sources of power. It appears in many opinions; a group will only access one issue, actually separating two topics which go hand in hand. The focus for examples in this paper with mainly rely on

Large dam construction cost and installation of equipment, and the usually great time required for completion of the project