A hydroelectric dam converts the potential energy stored in a water reservoir behind a dam to mechanical energy—mechanical energy is also known as kinetic energy. As the water flows down through the dam its kinetic energy is used to turn a turbine. Check out this video from the United States Department of Energy for more information on how hydroelectricity is generated:. Curious about the energy terminology used in this piece? The U. Flowing water creates energy that can be captured and turned into electricity.
This is called hydroelectric power or hydropower. The most common type of hydroelectric power plant uses a dam on a river to store water in a reservoir. Water released from the reservoir flows through a turbine, spinning it, which in turn activates a generator to produce electricity. Some hydroelectric power plants just use a small canal to channel the river water through a turbine.
Another type of hydroelectric power plant — called a pumped storage plant — can even store power. Hydroelectric generators also have long lives when compared to other forms of electricity generation. A hydroelectric generator can still be in service 50 to years of working and requires very little labour with low maintenance costs which makes a lot of economic sense.
Yes and no. The impact that a hydroelectric project will have on the environment will vary depending on scale and technology being used — for example you can expect a much smaller impact from a small scale run-of-river hydro system than one which requires flooding of land to create a new reservoir which would have a significant impact on the ecosystem both up and downstream.
Once the work has been completed, these locations provide an opportunity for a biodiverse ecosystem to thrive. Additionally, once the water has gone through the turbines to create electricity it carries on their natural water cycle, uncontaminated and unaffected by the process of creating electricity. There are some downsides to hydro — the most obvious one being that you need to have very specific conditions and elements available in order to generate electricity using this type of system.
Additionally, the initial cost to develop and build a project can be very high. Large-scale hydro electricity projects require significant investment in order for them to be built and even then there can be other permissions that are required which can slow can and even halt development. While certain methods like tidal power are extremely predictable, river run hydro power depends on a constant flow of water which relies on rainfall. Energy and the environment. Also in What is energy? Forms of energy Sources of energy Laws of energy.
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