Hydro Energy

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Used as a source of generating power for hundreds of years, Hydropower is the harnessing of the force of moving water and producing energy to be used in multiple applications.

Dating back to ancient times, hydropower was used for the operation of various machines, such as watermills, sawmills, dock cranes and also for irrigation purposes. Back in Roman times, water was the source of energy that powered mills to extract flour from grains and to cut timber and stone in the construction of the city and its dwellings.

The first known hydropower plant built in the U.S. occurred in 1880, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The so-called “boom” in larger scale plants did not take place until the 1930s and into the 1940s as part of President Roosevelt's "New Deal" program.

In the modern world, the use of hydropower is the catalyst in producing hydroelectricity. In its practice, hydroelectricity allows an end user the use of the energy produced by the water source in a lower, more cost effective manner.

Hydroelectricity is produced from hydropower, which is the generation of energy through the use of gravitational forces from flowing or falling water, usually from dams or rivers. Throughout the world, hydroelectric power supplies nearly 19% of electricity, or 715,000 MWe (megawatt electrical). It also represents more than 63% of the electricity used from renewable sources.

The greatest benefit from the use of hydropower is that it produces no carbon dioxide emissions or other harmful discharges, such as sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and nitric acid, unlike the use of fossil fuels. Hydropower also generates no waste by-products and has no affect on today’s growing concerns with global warming.

One of the most widely used devises for the production of hydropower is the dam. Currently there are more than 75,000 dams in the U.S. blocking more than 600,000 miles of our nation’s rivers, or 17% of the free flowing water.

With the use of dammed water, the potential energy source is used to drive water turbines and generators. The key element to the production of hydropower is dependent on the volume of the water, and the height difference between the original source of the water, the dammed water, and the position of the outflow. This difference in the height is paramount to produce the optimal amount of energy from the flowing water.

Within the United States, the Grand Coulee Dam, on the Columbia River in Washington State, currently holds the title as the country’s largest electric power producing facility, and is the fifth largest producer in the world. The dam also holds the distinction of being the largest concrete structure in North America as well, surpassing the Hoover Dam when constructed in 1942.

Rounding out the top five dams in the world, the Grand Coulee is surpassed by only the Three Gorges Dam in China, the Guri Dam in Venezuela, the Itaipu Dam on the border of Paraguay and Brazil, and the Sayano-Shushenskaya Dam in Russia.

In addition to the more common practices of waterpower, several other forms are in use or in developmental stages as well. Included are damless hydropower, which harnesses the kinetic energy of rivers, streams and oceans, and wave power, which captures the energy produced by waves.

One of the up-and-coming developments is from the use of tidal stream power. Still in its infancy, this technology draws energy from the currents of high volume river and streams. Requiring much more research, early models have shown some promise.

Despite the numerous advantages that hydropower possesses, there certainly are concerns that are raised by the construction and usage of hydroelectric plants. The most common, negative perception of these plants is the affects surrounding environmental damage, namely the disruption of the local ecosystems.

Along with the impact on ecosystems, a lesser-known result from the construction of hydroelectric plants is the dispersing of the local population. It is not often thought about, but it has been estimated that between 40 and 80 million people worldwide have been relocated due to the construction of dams and other hydropower plants.

Looking forward, the U.S. has only tapped into 20% of the country's potential for hydropower, leaving a wide range of progress and development for improving on this renewable source of energy. Hydropower could play a major role in the future and should be considered and encouraged when speaking of a viable source of power.