Hydropower Hydropower involves harnessing the kinetic energy from the movement of water and transforming it into a useful form for our use, such as electricity. The relative simplicity of hydropower and the widespread availability of bodies of appropriate bodies of water means that hydropower is considered the "world's largest source of renewable electricity", producing around 20-25% of the world's electricity (Timmons, Harris, and Roach 2014; National MagLab 2014). Hydropower generation has some advantages over other renewable sources like solar power, because although there can be fluctuations in water flow, it can generally keep producing energy to some extent constantly.
There are three primary methods by which electricity is generated from the movement of water: traditional hydroelectric dam projects, tidal power, and wave power.
|
|
DAMS!
Hydroelectric dams are the most common technology for hydropower generation. Most dams are constructed for purposes other than energy generation such as flood protection, and irrigation needs however, many dams can be updated to have energy generating abilities.
The Three Gorges Dam
Yangtze River, China
|
Apple Edison Light Company
Fox River, Appleton, Wisconsin
|
Tidal Power
Tidal power is not as developed as hydropower generation by conventional infrastructure such as dams. Tidal power takes advantage of the movement of water caused by the differential between high tides and low tides. Tidal energy can be generated using either barrages, which are similar in construction to dams; tidal fences, which are best used in a location where a channel can be fenced off to force all the water through a turbine; or tidal turbines, which are like wind turbines in the water.
Tidal Fences a
Wave Power!
Wave power is even less developed than tidal power. Some leading companies include Pelamis which created and installed the first wave power generator to produce electricity for a national grid. Proposed projects for wave power would either capture the vertical movement of the water to pump water on shore to turn a turbine, or from air forced into a turbine on the shore as waves break.