Hydroelectricity

… THE SIMPLE YET BENEFICIAL ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCE

What is it?

Hydroelectric energy is made by moving water.

Hydro is a prefix and comes from the Greek word for water.

The water flowing causes the turbines to turn, which then makes the generators move, creating electricity.

Turbines Turbines are wheels turned by

flowing water. Turbines were invented in the

19th century by a French engineer named Benoit Fourneyron(left).

Throughout the 19th century they were most commonly used for industrial power.

Today they are mainly used for electric power generators.

Dams A dam is a barrier that impounds

water or underground streams Dams commonly function the chief

purpose of retaining water, while other structure such as floodgates or levees are used to control water flow into specific land regions.

To harness the energy from water you need to create a reservoir by damming a river.

An example of a dam is the Hoover Dam located on the border of Arizona and Nevada.

Intake System The intake system is used by

engineers and controls the amount of water that flows through the dams

When in need of a lot of energy, the engineers open more tunnels a lets gallons and gallons of water flow. When less energy is needed, they simply close more tunnels and let fewer gallons of water flow through turbines.

Water Falls

Hydroelectricity coming from waterfalls is due to the water crashing into the fall line.

Some examples of waterfalls that produce hydroelectric energy include, The Niagara Falls located in New York, Angel Falls in Venezuela, and Khone Falls.

The waterfalls are graded on the logarithmic scale which depends on the falls average flow and its height.

Locations

Hydroelectricity is found in places all over the world.

Main Locations for Hydroelectricity include, The Columbia River in Oregon, The Niagara Falls in New York, and The Yangtze River in China.