Hydroelectric Energy Facts

Hydroelectric Renewable Energy Source

Hydroelectric Energy Facts

Hydroelectric Power Plants

In hydro power plants, hydroelectric turbines generate electrical power in a similar way to wind turbines. The mechanical force of moving water is channeled through a conduit to spin the blades of large turbines connected to electrical generators. Sometimes, power can be generated in a "run of the river" system if the river has a strong enough current and an ample supply of water to spin the turbine blades.

The kinetic energy of falling water can also be converted to hydroelectric energy using water diverted around the natural drop of a waterfall to power the turbines. Good examples of this are the huge Sir Adam Beck Generating Stations at Niagara Falls, Ontario, using the 52 meter (176 feet) height of Niagara Falls to good advantage.

Some locations may require the water to be dammed up in a reservoir to provide the drop needed to power the hydro turbines through a controlled release of the water. Hoover Dam is a good example of a reservoir system.

Hydroelectric energy is renewable so long as the water keeps flowing. It's also a source of clean renewable energy, since it produces no waste products and no harmful gas emissions or pollution.

However, some environmentalists express concerns because building hydroelectric power plants often results in changes to the environment because of the damming of rivers and streams. The natural habitats of creatures that live in and around water are often altered forever, as are the natural spawning grounds of fish that need to swim upstream.

As the source of hydroelectric renewable energy, water can also be adapted to small scale use if flowing steams or sluiceways are available for powering micro hydro turbines. Sometimes, people have ingeniously converted old grist mills into comfortable residences with their electrical power supplied by a micro hydro electric generator.

Tidal Power

Rivers and fast-flowing streams aren't the only source of hydroelectric power. There's also potential energy in the oceans to consider. Tidal power, tidal stream power, and wave power are examples of harnessing the sea as a renewable energy source.

Tidal power is a source of renewable energy in coastal areas that feature a large tidal range. The strong force of the incoming and outgoing tides can be harnessed to spin turbines to generate electrical power.

A huge dam-like structure called a barrage is constructed across a river estuary and as the tide ebbs and flows, seawater flows through tunnels in the barrage to spin the turbines and produce electricity.

Photo by Dani 7C3

France has benefited from its tidal technology since the 1960s, with the huge Rance Tidal Power Station project on the estuary of the Rance River, near Saint-Malo, in Brittany (see photo above).

The big drawback of tidal power is that tidal power stations can only generate electrical power for ten hours each day when the tides are flowing, however, tide times are predictable.

Tidal Stream Power & Ocean Wave Power

Tidal stream power operates in a similar fashion to tidal power, but the energy is harnessed from the continuous currents in the sea. It's a relatively new technology that's still being researched, but it does look promising.

Ocean wave power is also a new technology that uses devices which either float on top of the waves or uses the displacement of air by the waves to generate power. Experts believe that once it's perfected and used, ocean wave power can produce more energy than other hydro electric energy sources.

Hydroelectric Energy Facts

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