Do Now:How much water, in cubic

meters, is inside of all of the humans on the planet Earth???

The Parts of a Hydroelectric Plant

Essential QuestionsHow is moving water an energy

source?How can flowing water do work?What is hydropower’s potential?

The Water CycleThe Water Cycle ensures that water flows from mountain peaks, down rivers and streams back into the ocean. That continuous flow of water carries with it a large amount of kinetic energy.

…kinetic energy that can be transformed into electrical energy, with the aid of hydroelectric power plants, to power our homes and businesses!

Hydroelectric Power Plants

Water enters hydroelectric plants from a river or reservoir; each plant has essentially 8 different elements:

1. Reservoir2. Penstock3. Turbine Blades &

Shaft4. Generator5. Step-up Transformer6. Transmission Lines7. Tailrace8. Dam & Spillway

ReservoirThe reservoir for a hydroelectric

plant is a man-made lake/pond where water stored so that it backs up behind a dam; the height of such a mass of water is a way of storing gravitational potential energy.

PenstockPenstock is the pipe that

channels water from the reservoir to the blades of the turbine. As the water moves through the penstock, its potential energy is transformed into kinetic energy.

Turbine Blades & ShaftThe turbine blades transform

the kinetic energy of the water into mechanical energy which the shaft transmits on to the generator.

GeneratorThe generator transforms the

mechanical energy transmitted from the turbine blades into electricity, into electrical energy.

Step-up TransformerThe step-up transformer

increases the voltage of the electrical current generated so that it can be transmitted long distances more efficiently.

Dam & SpillwayA Dam is a barrier that blocks

the regular flow of a river or stream, causing the water to back up behind it.

Spillways are holes in the dam that can be opened to allow water to flow past the dam to prevent water from overflowing the dam.

What’s Coming Up?Hydropower & Water TurbinesImpacts on Environment/Society

Types of Hydroelectric Plants

There are 3 main types of hydroelectric plants:

1. Traditional2. Pumped Storage3. Run-of-River