How is hydroelectricity produced?
Here are three examples of methods that are commonly used to produce hydroelectricity:
Method OneStorage – where a dam collects water in a reservoir, then releases it to drive turbines, producing electricity
|
Method TwoPumped storage - where water is pumped to a higher reservoir, usually during times of low-priced electricity, then released to a lower reservoir, again driving a turbine, usually when the electricity price is higher
|
Method ThreeRun-of-river – where the natural flow of a river stream is used to drive a turbine.” And the drive of the turbine again produces electricity.
|
Major Components of a Hydro System
This diagram from http://www.edfenergy.com/energyfuture/generation-hydro shows the parts and processes of a dam.
The definitions of the blue terms can be found in the "Key Terms" section below.
The definitions of the blue terms can be found in the "Key Terms" section below.
When a dam is constructed, it blocks the river's water from traveling downstream, creating a reservoir. This turns the reservoir into stored water that is waiting to be released. The reservoir's water is released through the opening of an intake in the dam. The water is forced through the penstock, then towards a turbine. When the water hits the turbine's blades, the blades spin and the water continues its way out of the dam and downstream. Because the turbine is connected to a generator, when the turbine spins, so does the generator. A transformer, which is found in the power house along with the turbine and the generator, converts the electrical energy produced by the generator to a high voltage. High voltages are used to transmit electricity through power lines to homes and businesses.
Key Terms
Here are the definitions to some common terms that are good to know when learning or reading about hydroelectricity:
dam - a barrier built across a watercourse to prevent the flow of water
generator - a part connected to the turbine that uses an electromagnetic field to convert the spinning into electrical energy.
intake - an underwater gate in a dam
kilowatt hour - a measure of electrical energy equivalent to a power consumption of 1,000 watts for 1 hour
penstock - a channel, which is part of a dam
reservoir - a usually artificial lake that is used to store a large supply of water for use in people's homes, in businesses, etc.
turbine - an engine that has a part with blades that are caused to spin by pressure from, in this case, water, used to convert kinetic energy into electrical energy
dam - a barrier built across a watercourse to prevent the flow of water
generator - a part connected to the turbine that uses an electromagnetic field to convert the spinning into electrical energy.
intake - an underwater gate in a dam
kilowatt hour - a measure of electrical energy equivalent to a power consumption of 1,000 watts for 1 hour
penstock - a channel, which is part of a dam
reservoir - a usually artificial lake that is used to store a large supply of water for use in people's homes, in businesses, etc.
turbine - an engine that has a part with blades that are caused to spin by pressure from, in this case, water, used to convert kinetic energy into electrical energy