The Benefits Of Hydroelectric Energy

To generate electricity, a form of energy has to be changed to another type of energy and the result has to be stored in a form that can be transmitted. Most power plants take stored energy in the form of coal or natural gas and transform it with fire to produce electricity.

Fire isn’t the only way to change stored energy into electricity. That’s a good thing since anything transformed by fire is destroyed. Some types of energy transformation do not result in destruction. These are called renewable energy sources. The movement of water is one type of renewable energy source. When water is transformed into electricity it’s called hydroelectric energy.

Dam Energy

By getting moving water to move a machine, energy is transferred from the water to the machine which can then be used directly to perform a task or be sent to a generator to be changed to electricity.

The old paddle wheels were turned by the water moving along a river. The wheels then moved the machinery inside to mill grain. Most of today’s water power is used to generate hydroelectric energy by using a penstock to move water from a high reservoir through a dam to a lower holding area. The penstock is a large pipe that forces the water from a high point to a lower one. The downhill direction increases the power of the water’s movement, generating more hydroelectric energy.

The penstock guides the water power to a turbine a large wheel which turns in a similar way as the old paddle wheels did. The turbine transfers its energy to a generator which makes electricity. This hydroelectric energy is merely a transfer of energy from the water to the generator.

Energy is never created or destroyed only changed from one form to another. Usually a transfer of energy results in a loss of some percentage of the original energy. In most power generation, the use of fire results in a waste of energy. New hydroelectric energy technology generates power with ever-decreasing losses of energy.

Many modern hydroelectric energy dams pump the water from the lower holding area back to the higher reservoir using power during off-peak hours. The electricity generation makes power available during peak usage times. This method is called pumped-storage hydroelectric energy.

Most man-made energy transfers result in some damage to the environment. In the case of hydroelectric energy, the downside is a decrease in the salmon population. Most hydroelectric energy dams have a fish ladder, also called fishways which are a series of steps built in the down flow of water to aid salmon and other migrating fish to ascend to their spawning grounds. Following spawning, there is always a loss of small fish when they try to navigate the turbine.

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