Hydropower Energy
What is hydropower?
Hydropower is power that is generated from moving water such as rivers.
Renewable Energy
Hydropower is a renewable energy source. This means that using a dam or a river to generate electricity doesn’t use up any limited resources like coal or gasoline.
How do we get power from water?
Falling or flowing water from a big river has a lot of energy. We can harness this by forcing the water through a pipe called a penstock. As the water flows through the pipe it turns the blades of a turbine which spins an electric generator. As long as the water is flowing, the generator will be able to provide electricity.
Hydroelectric power from a dam
Electricity can be generated by water moving through a dam
Run-of-the-river System
In a run-of-the-river system the turbines are spun by the natural flow of the river.
Pumped Storage System
This system is like the storage system except it uses pumps to pump used water back up into the reservoir.
