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What is Hydropower?

Hydropower, or hydroelectric power, is one of the oldest and largest sources of renewable energy, which uses the natural flow of moving water to generate electricity. Hydropower currently accounts for 28.7% of total U.S. renewable electricity generation and about 6.2% of total U.S. electricity generation. 

While most people might associate the energy source with the Hoover Dam—a huge facility harnessing the power of an entire river behind its wall— hydropower facilities come in all sizes . Some may be very large, but they can be tiny, too,  taking advantage of water flows  in municipal water facilities or irrigation ditches. They can even be “damless,” with diversions or run-of-river facilities that channel part of a stream through a powerhouse before the water rejoins the main river. Whatever the method, hydropower is much easier to obtain and more widely used than most people realize. In fact, all but two states (Delaware and Mississippi) use hydropower for electricity, some more than others. For example, in 2020 about 66% of the state of Washington’s electricity came from hydropower. 

In a study led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory on hydropower flexibility, preliminary analysis found that the firm capacity associated with U.S. hydropower’s flexibility is estimated to be over 24 GW. To replace this capability with storage would require the buildout of 24 GW of 10-hour storage—more than all the existing storage in the United States today. Additionally, in terms of integrating wind and solar, the flexibility presented in existing U.S. hydropower facilities could help bring up to 137 gigawatts of new wind and solar online by 2035.

How Does Hydropower Work?

Hydropower technologies generate power by using the elevation difference,  created by a dam or diversion structure, of water flowing in on one side and out, far below, on the other. The Department of Energy's "Hydropower 101" video explains how hydropower works and highlights some of the research and development efforts of the Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) in this area.

Text version

What is the cost of Hydropower?

Hydropower is an affordable source of electricity that costs less than most. Since hydropower relies only on the energy from moving water, states that get the majority of their electricity from hydropower, like Idaho, Washington, and Oregon, have lower energy bills than the rest of the country.  

Compared to other electricity sources, hydropower also has relatively low costs throughout the duration of a full project lifetime in terms of maintenance, operations, and fuel. Like any major energy source, significant upfront costs are unavoidable, but hydropower’s longer lifespan spreads these costs out over time. Additionally, the equipment used at hydropower facilities often operates for longer periods of time without needing replacements or repairs, saving money in the long term.

NATIONAL LABORATORY HYDROPOWER RESOURCES

National Renewable Energy Laboratory Hydropower Research

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Hydropower Overview

Argonne National Laboratory Water Power Technologies

Idaho National Laboratory Integrated Hydropower and Energy Storage Systems

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Water Power Program

The installation costs for large hydropower facilities consist mostly of civil construction works (such as the building of the dams, tunnels, and other necessary infrastructure) and electromechanical equipment costs (electricity-generating machinery). Since hydropower is a site-specific technology, these costs can be minimized at the planning stage through proper selection of location and design.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF HYDROPOWER?

The benefits of hydropower have been recognized and harnessed for thousands of years. In addition to being a clean and cost-effective form of energy, hydropower plants can provide power to the grid immediately, serving as a flexible and reliable form of backup power during major electricity outages or disruptions. Hydropower also produces a number of benefits outside of electricity generation, such as flood control, irrigation support, and water supply.

WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF HYDROPOWER?

The history of hydropower dates back thousands of years. For example, the Greeks used water wheels to grind wheat into flour more than 2,000 years ago. The evolution of the modern hydropower turbine began in the mid-1700s when a French hydraulic and military engineer, Bernard Forest de Bélidor, wrote Architecture Hydraulique . Many key developments in hydropower technology occurred during the first half of the 19th century, and more recently, the past century has seen a number of hydroelectric advancements that have helped hydropower become an integral part of the renewable energy mix in the United States.

To learn how to join the hydropower industry and more about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce development opportunities, visit the Hydropower STEM Portal .

Hydropower News

WPTO's Hydropower e-newsletter features news on R&D and applied science to advance sustainable hydropower and pumped-storage technologies.

WPTO brings funding opportunities, events, publications, & activities related to hydropower and marine energy directly to your inbox.

ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY

Hydroelectric energy.

Hydroelectric energy is a form of renewable energy that uses the power of moving water to generate electricity.

Earth Science, Geography, Physical Geography

Slovenian Hydroelectric Dam

Damed river in a valley marked with agricultural fields along the flood plains surrounded by rolling hills.

Photograph by spiderskidoo/Getty

Hydroelectric energy , also called hydroelectric power or hydroelectricity , is a form of energy that harnesses the power of water in motion—such as water flowing over a waterfall—to generate electricity. People have used this force for millennia. Over 2,000 years ago, people in Greece used flowing water to turn the wheel of their mill to ground wheat into flour.

How Does Hydroelectric Energy Work?

Most hydroelectric power plants have a reservoir of water, a gate or valve to control how much water flows out of the reservoir , and an outlet or place where the water ends up after flowing downward. Water gains potential energy just before it spills over the top of a dam or flows down a hill. The potential energy is converted into kinetic energy as water flows downhill. The water can be used to turn the blades of a turbine to generate electricity, which is distributed to the power plant’s customers.

Types of Hydroelectric Energy Plants

There are three different types of hydroelectric energy plants, the most common being an impoundment facility. In an impoundment facility, a dam is used to control the flow of water stored in a pool or reservoir . When more energy is needed, water is released from the dam. Once water is released, gravity takes over and the water flows downward through a turbine . As the blades of the turbine spin, they power a generator.

Another type of hydroelectric energy plant is a diversion facility. This type of plant is unique because it does not use a dam. Instead, it uses a series of canals to channel flowing river water toward the generator-powering turbines .

The third type of plant is called a pumped-storage facility. This plant collects the energy produced from solar, wind, and nuclear power and stores it for future use. The plant stores energy by pumping water uphill from a pool at a lower elevation to a reservoir located at a higher elevation. When there is high demand for electricity, water located in the higher pool is released. As this water flows back down to the lower reservoir, it turns a turbine to generate more electricity.

How Widely Is Hydroelectric Energy Used Around the World?

Hydroelectric energy is the most commonly-used renewable source of electricity. China is the largest producer of hydroelectricity. Other top producers of hydropower around the world include the United States, Brazil, Canada, India, and Russia. Approximately 71 percent of all of the renewable electricity generated on Earth is from hydropower.

What Is the Largest Hydroelectric Power Plant in the World?

The Three Gorges Dam in China, which holds back the Yangtze River, is the largest hydroelectric dam in the world, in terms of electricity production. The dam is 2,335 meters (7,660 feet) long and 185 meters (607 feet) tall, and has enough generators to produce 22,500 megawatts of power.

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Related Resources

2020 Hydropower Status Report (PPT)

Presentation on the 2020 Hydropower Status Report.

This PowerPoint slide pack includes headline information and infographics on worldwide hydropower installed capacity and generation data.

These slides can be used in external presentations provided the source is credited as 'International Hydropower Association (IHA), 2020 Hydropower Status Report'.

To download the full report pdf please visit the publication page .

Learn more: www.hydropower.org/statusreport

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Energy Security through pumped storage hydropower - letter from Malcolm Turnbull to Hon Rishi Sunak

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Bali Statement on Powering Sustainable Growth

Begin your journey in sustainable hydropower.

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Hydropower is energy in moving water

People have a long history of using the force of water flowing in streams and rivers to produce mechanical energy. Hydropower was one of the first sources of energy used for electricity generation, and until 2019, hydropower was the leading source of total annual U.S. renewable electricity generation.

In 2022, hydroelectricity accounted for about 6.2% of total U.S. utility-scale 1 electricity generation and 28.7% of total utility-scale renewable electricity generation. Hydroelectricity generation varies annually, and it's share of total U.S. electricity generation generally decreased from the 1950's through 2020, mainly because of increases in electricity generation from other sources . Hydroelectricity's percentage share of total annual U.S. electricity generation in 2001 through 2022 averaged about 6.7%.

Hydropower relies on the water cycle

• Solar energy heats water on the surface of rivers, lakes, and oceans, which causes the water to evaporate.
• Water vapor condenses into clouds and falls as precipitation—rain and snow.
• Precipitation collects in streams and rivers, which empty into oceans and lakes, where it evaporates and begins the cycle again.

The amount of precipitation that drains into rivers and streams in a geographic area determines the amount of water available for producing hydropower. Seasonal variations in precipitation and long-term changes in precipitation patterns, such as droughts, can have significant effects on the availability of hydropower production.

Source: Adapted from National Energy Education Development Project (public domain)

Source: Tennessee Valley Authority (public domain)

Hydroelectric power is produced with moving water

Because the source of hydroelectric power is water, hydroelectric power plants are usually located on or near a water source. The volume of the water flow and the change in elevation—or fall, and often referred to as head —from one point to another determine the amount of available energy in moving water. In general, the greater the water flow and the higher the head, the more electricity a hydropower plant can produce.

At hydropower plants water flows through a pipe, or penstock , then pushes against and turns blades in a turbine that spin to power a generator to produce electricity.

• Run-of-the-river systems , where the force of the river's current applies pressure on a turbine. The facilities may have a weir in the water course to divert water flow to hydro turbines.
• Storage systems , where water accumulates in reservoirs created by dams on streams and rivers and is released through hydro turbines as needed to generate electricity. Most U.S. hydropower facilities have dams and storage reservoirs.

Pumped-storage hydropower facilities are a type of hydroelectric storage system where water is pumped from a water source up to a storage reservoir at a higher elevation. The water is released from the upper reservoir to power hydro turbines located below the upper reservoir. They usually pump water to storage when electricity demand and generation costs, or when wholesale electricity prices are relatively low, and release the stored water to generate electricity during peak electricity demand periods when wholesale electricity prices are relatively high. Pumped-storage hydroelectric systems generally use more electricity to pump water to the upper water storage reservoirs than they produce with the stored water. Therefore, pumped-storage facilities have net negative electricity generation balances.

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Hydropower has a long history

Hydropower is one of the oldest sources of energy for producing mechanical and electrical energy, and up until 2019, it was the largest source of total annual U.S. renewable electricity generation. Thousands of years ago, people used hydropower to turn paddle wheels on rivers to grind grain. Before steam power and electricity were available in the United States, grain and lumber mills were powered directly with hydropower. The first industrial use of hydropower to generate electricity in the United States was in 1880 to power 16 brush-arc lamps at the Wolverine Chair Factory in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The first U.S. hydroelectric power plant to sell electricity opened on the Fox River near Appleton, Wisconsin, on September 30, 1882.

There are about 1,450 conventional and 40 pumped-storage hydropower plants operating in the United States. The oldest operating U.S. hydropower facility is the Whiting plant in Whiting, Wisconsin, which started operating in 1891 and has a total generation capacity of about 4 megawatts (MW). Most U.S. hydroelectricity is produced at large dams on major rivers, and most of these hydroelectric dams were built before the mid-1970s by federal government agencies. The largest U.S. hydropower facility, and the largest U.S. electric power plant in electric generation capacity , is the Grand Coulee hydro dam on the Columbia River in Washington State, with 6,765 MW total generation capacity.

1 Utility-scale power plants have at least 1 MW (or 1,000 kilowatts) of total net electric generation capacity .

Last updated: April 20, 2023, with most recent data available.

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Hydroelectric Power

Dec 20, 2019

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Hydroelectric Power. Worldwide, hydropower plants produce about 24 percent of the world's electricity and supply more than 1 billion people with power.

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Worldwide, hydropower plants produce about 24 percent of the world's electricity and supply more than 1 billion people with power. The world's hydropower plants generate a combined total of 675,000 megawatts, the energy equivalent of 3.6 billion barrels of oil, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. There are more than 2,000 hydropower plants operating in the United States, making hydropower the country's largest renewable energy source.

What is Hydroelectric Power? • Hydropower plants harness water's energy (of motion) and use simple mechanics to convert that energy into electricity. • Hydropower plants are actually based on a rather simple concept -- water flowing through a dam turns a turbine, which turns a generator.

What are the parts of a Hydroelectric Power Plant? • Intake and Penstock-pull water into the area where turbine is located • Turbine-spins as water passes through • Generator-generates electricity using mechanical energy of the spinning turbine • Transformer-transforms electrical energy for passage through the power lines • Reservoir-holds the water

Picture of the shaft connecting the turbine and generator

4 Years to build the Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam Powerhouses Hoover Dam has 17 generators giving it the capacity to produce over 2,000 megawatts of electricity.

Reservoir for Hoover Dam-Lake Mead

View from on top of dam

Spillways Open-water bypasses the dam

Interesting Hoover Dam Facts • The Hoover Dam weighs 6.6 million tons • There is enough concrete in the dam to build a 3 inch thick, 4 foot wide sidewalk around the earth at the equator • Standing 726 feet tall, the Hoover Dam is tallest solid concrete dam in the western hemisphere

Benefits of Hydroelectric Power • Clean, very little pollution • Renewable resource • Inexpensive

Downsides to Hydroelectric Power • Diverts natural flow of water-changes the environment • Not suitable for all areas-need high and low elevations for gravity to cause water to move

Other Methods of Power Production: • Solar power • Wind power • Geothermal power • Biofuels • Nuclear • Wave power • Tidal Power *With your group discuss how are these other power production methods are similar/different?

Nuclear Power • Brain POP: Nuclear Power-as you watch the BP consider the following: • What are pros and cons for using nuclear power? • How does nuclear power create electricity? • What is a chain reaction? Nuclear Fission Chain Reaction Video

World Electrical Energy Production

How does Tallahassee produce its power? The City of Tallahassee uses 4 power plants to generate electricity for its residents: • C.H. Corn Facility • Arvah B. Hopkins Generating Station • Sam O. Purdom Generating Station • Solar Farm Tallahassee requires approximately 425 megawatts of electricity daily! Source: www.talgov.com

C.H. Corn Facility • Hydroelectric powered • 1 of only 2 hydroelectric plants in Florida (why only 2?) • Has 3 generators • Capacity of 12 megawatts • City plans to shut this plant down as it is not cost effective *other hydroelectric power plant is on Lake Seminole Source: www.talgov.com

Arvah B. Hopkins Generating Station • burns fossil fuels (either natural gas or oil) to convert water to steam in two huge boilers. • The steam is used to drive two turbines which are in turn connected to power generators. • In addition, power can be produced when needed by two gas turbine generators located at the plant. • Capacity of 368 megawatts Source: www.talgov.com

Sam O. Purdom Generating Station • Purdom Unit 8 uses a system called Combined Cycle Technology, which effectively uses the energy from the burned fuel twice. • It then uses mechanical energy produced by steam to move the turbines. • Capacity of 320 megawatts Source: www.talgov.com

Plans for future energy needs Tallahassee broke ground on 5/30/17 on a 120-acre solar project at the international airport capable of powering 2,400 homes and businesses. Customers can opt in to use solar energy with a fuel rate of 5 cents per kilowatt hour for 20 years (compared to 3.5 cents for fossil fuels). Capacity is 20 megawatts Tallahassee Solar Farm Building Video http://www.talgov.com/you/solar.aspx

How does the electricity get to our homes? http://www.brainpop.com/technology/scienceandindustry/dams/zoom.weml

Deerlake Middle School Solar Panel The PV (photovoltaic) panel collects the sun’s energy to generate power

How does it work? • Click the link to see how it works: http://www.solar-is-future.com/index.php?id=316 Video: https://www.eeremultimedia.energy.gov/solar/videos/solar_power_basics

Parts of the System Energy collected from the panel is stored in the batteries in the shed The system has a “brain” that determines where the power from the panel goes: either to the batteries or to offset power used from Talquin Electric

Solar Energy • Energy is collected and stored in batteries • Once the batteries are full, power is used to offset the electrical needs of the school • Some systems will actually feed back to the local power company if it generates extra power that is not used • Our solar panel generates enough power to operate our emergency lights and two outlets

The meters indicate power in from Talquin Electric (on left) and power produced by the panel (on right)

Data Monitoring • Energy Whiz website-data is uploaded to the internet from the panel http://energywhiz.com/

Natural Gas (CNG) Buses • Watch the video: http://flix.quickrewards.net/watch/4309757/ • Air pollutants are not released, just water • Natural gas is much cheaper than diesel • Natural gas is found in the United States • Leon County is currently adding CNG buses to it’s fleet, reducing the diesel buses

Answer in your spiral notebook…. • Which energy source do you think would be suitable for the most populations in the world? Explain using at least 2 reasons • Which energy source do you think would be best for Tallahassee? Explain using at least 2 reasons • Why can’t we use just one of the power production methods globally?

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Hydroelectric power

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Hydroelectric Power. http://www.nrel.gov/gis/docs/resource_maps_200905.ppt http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/index.html http://www.window.state.tx.us/specialrpt/energy/exec/hydro.html http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/wuhy.html http://www.eia.doe.gov/fuelrenewable.html. Overview.

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• Current Electricity
• Hydroelectricity And Hydro Power Plant

Conventional Sources Of Energy : Hydroelectricity And Hydro Power Plant

Hydroelectricity.

Hydroelectricity refers to the generation of electrical power by the use of hydropower. Hydropower here mainly is the gravitational force of falling water. This does not use any water in energy production. In the previous article on the Thermal power plants, you learned that steam was causing the movement in the turbines. Here the flow of the water from a height causes the rotation in the turbines, but more on that later. Coming back to hydroelectricity, it is the most widely used form of renewable energy accounting for 3% of the world’s total energy consumption. The cost of hydroelectricity is relatively low, giving it a competitive edge as a source of energy. The average cost of electricity for a large hydropower plant is very low. Energy production is dependent on the amount of water that is let out since this can be controlled, hydropower plants have the advantage of being flexible. The output can be controlled as required by the need.

Hydro Power Plant

Hydroelectricity is produced by utilising the gravitational force of falling water. To this end, the hydropower plant requires a dam. This dam is placed on a source of water, preferably a river. The dam is a massive wall that blocks the flow of the river, therefore, a lot of water collects behind the dam. Near the bottom of the dam, there is an intake from which the water is let into the dam. This intake leads to a drop through the penstock inside the dam. The device used to obtain energy from the falling water here is a turbine. Thermal power plants also use turbines but there are some major differences between the steam turbines and hydro turbines. The turbine is connected by a shaft to the generator. When the water rotates the turbine, electrical energy is generated.

Hydropower plants also have a facility of pumped storage wherein water is kept as a reserve for periods of peak power demand. This is the hydroelectric equivalent of recharging your battery. When the power demand is low, say in the middle of the night, the dam uses a pump to pump the water back up to the reservoir behind it. This water is then used during times of peak power demands.

Hydroelectricity Verdict

The production capacity of a dam is dependent on the water supply available. Once constructed, a hydropower plant will be operational for decades and provided its water sources don’t run out, it can produce electricity at a constant rate. As mentioned earlier, the output can be easily controlled. The reservoir that forms behind the dam can be used for irrigation or for leisure purposes. Also, once the construction is completed, there is a negligible amount of greenhouse gas emission.

Dams also have a couple of problems, though. Dams are very expensive to build and to last decades, they must be built to a high standard. Also in the case of dam breaches, the runaway water will cause significant flooding in the downstream regions. Also, the creation of a reservoir causes a massive tract of land to get submerged. This area is lost and people living in such areas are displaced. Sometimes they are compensated, sometimes not. This creates a lot of tension between the construction and the affected people. Also, the construction of a dam blocks the natural flow of water and severely reduces the flow downstream. Such situations can cause disputes between neighbouring countries and even neighbouring states such as Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs

What is meant by renewable energy.

It is the energy accumulated from renewable sources that are naturally reloaded.

What is hydroelectricity?

Hydroelectricity refers to the generation of electrical power by the use of hydropower. Hydropower here mainly is the gravitational force of falling water.

What is a hydropower plant?

A hydropower station has turbines that depend on a downward flow of water from the reservoir to rotate a turbine to produce electricity. Hydroelectricity is produced by utilizing the gravitational force of falling water.

What are the advantages of hydroelectricity?

The production capacity of a reservoir is dependent on the water supply available. Once constructed, a hydropower plant will be operational for decades and provided its water sources don’t run out. It can produce electricity at a constant rate. As mentioned earlier, the output can be easily controlled. The reservoir that forms behind the dam can be used for irrigation or for leisure purposes. There is only a negligible amount of greenhouse gas emission.

Which is the biggest hydroelectric power plant in the world?

Three Gorges Dam is the biggest hydroelectric power plant in the world.

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Magee presents on RiverWare hydropower flexibilities at CEATI 2024 Conference

Fully realizing the potential flexibility of hydropower is essential both because of the variability of load and the growing penetration of renewable generation. While renewables contribute generation, renewables also add variability to the net load after subtracting their generation. The remainder of generation portfolios, including hydropower, face an ever-increasing need for generation flexibility, and the value of that flexibility is likely to increase.

Hydropower is an innately flexible resource, but that flexibility is not always realized. We describe several approaches to realizing the hydropower flexibility. All approaches use RiverWare’s preemptive goal programming optimization method.

One approach to realizing hydropower flexibility is to reconsider standard operating practices that are not formally required but are limiting flexibility. We present the measured gain in flexibility from relaxing some of these common practices.

Another approach to realizing hydropower flexibility is to accurately represent hydropower flexibility in production cost models (PCMs) which include power demand, transmission, and other sources of generation. A complimentary part of realizing hydropower flexibility is including the data generated by PCMs as signals to drive hydropower models. Together, this bidirectional transfer of data can use hydropower flexibility to jointly optimize all generation sources for cost and reliability. We describe several approaches we have applied to real hydropower systems, including TVA, BPA, and others. We also describe the lessons learned from these approaches.

We present one approach in more detail, a case study at TVA with a novel iterative process that approximates joint optimization of hydropower with its flexibility and a portfolio of other generation within a PCM. The iteration ultimately solves both a hydropower model and a PCM twice to approximately optimize TVA’s generation portfolio. This optimization is done with the minimum possible violation of TVA’s higher priority non-power constraints on the hydropower system.

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