Hydroelectricity

History

 1848 first used, Craigside house, situated in Northumberland, England and still stands today

 First used to grind corn into meal, and later wheat into flour

What the energy source is

 Electricity generated by hydropower – production of power through the use of gravitational

force of falling or flowing water – water under pressure – force of running water
 Can be stored unlike sun or wind
 Most widely used form of renewable energy
 Produces no direct waste
 Low output of CO2
 In 2005, around 20% of the world’s electricity
 Accounted for about 88% of electricity from renewable sources

Electricity Generation

 Hydroelectric stations are built where there is running water

 Construction of a dam situated at the head of a valley
 Behind the dam, water is allowed to build up forming a large, deep lake
 The deeper and larger the lake, the greater the potential of producing large amounts of
electricity
 Dam may take years to construct and cost millions of dollars
 A dam must stay for many years possibly decades to produce electricity profitably

 Water from rain or melting snow is collected and stored in the dam
 Flow of water can be controlled with the opening and closing of the gates or pipes
 Dam wall can also create a high water level, which creates more pressure in the pipes to
turbine
 A large pipe carries the water from the dam to the turbine
 The pressure of the water pushes against the blades and turns the turbines
 The rotating turbine is connected to a generator which makes the electricity
 The electricity travels through transformers and transmission lines to homes and schools etc.
  First hydroelectric generation facility was built on the Fox River in US in 1882

 Most hydroelectric power comes from the potential energy of dammed water driving a
water turbine and generator. In this case the energy extracted from the water depends on
the volume and on the difference in height between the source and the water's outflow.
This height difference is called the head. The amount of potential energy in water is
proportional to the head. To obtain very high head, water for a hydraulic turbine may be run
through a large pipe called a penstock.
 Pumped storage hydroelectricity produces electricity to supply high peak demands by
moving water between reservoirs at different elevations. At times of low electrical demand,
excess generation capacity is used to pump water into the higher reservoir. When there is
higher demand, water is released back into the lower reservoir through a turbine. Pumped
storage schemes currently provide the only commercially important means of large-scale
grid energy storage and improve the daily load factor of the generation system.
Hydroelectric plants with no reservoir capacity are called run-of-the-river plants, since it is
not then possible to store water. A tidal power plant makes use of the daily rise and fall of
water due to tides; such sources are highly predictable, and if conditions permit construction
of reservoirs, can also be dispatchable to generate power during high demand periods.
 Less common types of hydro schemes use water's kinetic energy or undammed sources such
as undershot waterwheels.
 A simple formula for approximating electric power production at a hydroelectric plant is: P =
hrgk, where P is Power in kilowatts, h is height in meters, r is flow rate in cubic meters per
second, g is acceleration due to gravity of 9.8 m/s2, and k is a coefficient of efficiency ranging
from 0 to 1. Efficiency is often higher with larger and more modern turbines.
 Annual electric energy production depends on the available water supply. In some
installations the water flow rate can vary by a factor of 10:1 over the course of a year.

% of Australia’s power it currently supplies

 2006 – 10% of electricity generated, 18% worldwide

 Provides 97% of all energy produced of all energy produced by renewable sources
 Solar, wind, biomass and geothermal only 3%

Accessibility

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Bibliography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroelectricity

http://www.technologystudent.com/energy1/hydr1.htm

http://www.energykids.energyaustralia.com.au/renewable_energy/hydro

http://www.snowyhydro.com.au/LevelThree.asp?pageID=244&parentID=66&grandParentID=4