Hydropower is the usage of water to operate machines or generate electricity. Water is in a constant state of movement through a huge global cycle: it is evaporated [1] from lakes and oceans, it forms clouds, it drops as rain or snow, and then it returns to the sea. The energy of this water cycle, which is powered by the sun, can be drawn on to generate electricity or for such mechanical tasks as the milling of grain [2]. Hydropower uses a source of fuel water [3], that is not reduced or used up in the process. Because the water cycle is an infinite, ever-renewing system, hydropower is classified as renewable energy.
If running water is captured and transformed into electricity, it is referred to as hydropower or hydroelectricity. There are various types of hydropower plants, they are all powered by the kinetic energy of flowing water as it moves downstream. Turbines and generators turn the energy into electricity, which is then fed into the power grid [4] for use in households, companies and industries.
Types of hydropower and dams
There are different kinds of hydroelectric power plants [5], all of these are powered by More...
Run-of-river power plants are built on rivers and use the energy of water flowing down a gradient. In most cases, this is only a few meters, but since several hundred tons of water can flow down per second, run-of-river power stations can have a large capacity of several megawatts (MW). The water flow spins turbines, which converts kinetic rotational energy to electrical energy.1
More...