Power Sources and Renewable Energy

Hydroelectric Plant

Gerald Wanna
DMeT Batch 3
Hydroelectric power, electricity produced from generators driven by turbines that
convert the potential energy of falling or fast-flowing water into mechanical energy. In
the early 21st century, hydroelectric power was the most widely utilized form of
renewable energy; in 2019 it accounted for more than 18 percent of the world’s total
power generation capacity.

hydroelectric turbine generators

In the generation of hydroelectric power, water is collected or stored at a higher

elevation and led downward through large pipes or tunnels (penstocks) to a lower
elevation; the difference in these two elevations is known as the head. At the end of its
passage down the pipes, the falling water causes turbines to rotate. The turbines in turn
drive generators, which convert the turbines’ mechanical energy into electricity.
Transformers are then used to convert the alternating voltage suitable for the
generators to a higher voltage suitable for long-distance transmission. The structure that
houses the turbines and generators, and into which the pipes or penstocks feed, is
called the powerhouse.

Hydroelectric power plants are usually located in dams that impound rivers, thereby
raising the level of the water behind the dam and creating as high a head as is feasible.
The potential power that can be derived from a volume of water is directly proportional
to the working head, so that a high-head installation requires a smaller volume of water
than a low-head installation to produce an equal amount of power. In some dams, the
powerhouse is constructed on one flank of the dam, part of the dam being used as a
spillway over which excess water is discharged in times of flood. Where the river flows
in a narrow steep gorge, the powerhouse may be located within the dam itself.

In most communities the demand for electric power varies considerably at different
times of the day. To even the load on the generators, pumped-storage hydroelectric
stations are occasionally built. During off-peak periods, some of the extra power
available is supplied to the generator operating as a motor, driving the turbine to pump
water into an elevated reservoir. Then, during periods of peak demand, the water is
allowed to flow down again through the turbine to generate electrical energy. Pumped-
storage systems are efficient and provide an economical way to meet peak loads.

In certain coastal areas, such as the Rance River estuary in Brittany, France,
hydroelectric power plants have been constructed to take advantage of the rise and fall
of tides. When the tide comes in, water is impounded in one or more reservoirs. At low
tide, the water in these reservoirs is released to drive hydraulic turbines and their
coupled electric generators.

Norris Dam

Falling water is one of the three principal sources of energy used to generate electric
power, the other two being fossil fuels and nuclear fuels. Hydroelectric power has
certain advantages over these other sources. It is continually renewable owing to the
recurring nature of the hydrologic cycle. It does not produce thermal pollution.
(However, some dams can produce methane from the decomposition of vegetation
under water.) Hydroelectric power is a preferred energy source in areas with heavy
rainfall and with hilly or mountainous regions that are in reasonably close proximity to
the main load centres. Some large hydro sites that are remote from load centres may be
sufficiently attractive to justify the long high-voltage transmission lines. Small local hydro
sites may also be economical, particularly if they combine storage of water during light
loads with electricity production during peaks. Many of the negative environmental
impacts of hydroelectric power come from the associated dams, which can interrupt the
migrations of spawning fish, such as salmon, and permanently submerge or displace
ecological and human communities as the reservoirs fill. In addition, hydroelectric dams
are vulnerable to water scarcity. In August 2021 Oroville Dam, one of the largest
hydroelectric power plants in California, was forced to shut down due to historic drought
conditions in the region.

Hoover Dam, dam in Black Canyon on the Colorado River, at the Arizona-Nevada
border, U.S. Constructed between 1930 and 1936, it is the highest concrete arch-gravity
dam in the United States. It impounds Lake Mead, which extends for 115 miles (185
km) upstream and is one of the largest artificial lakes in the world. The dam is used for
flood and silt control, hydroelectric power, agricultural irrigation, and domestic water
supply. It is also a major sightseeing destination, with some seven million visitors a
year, almost one million of whom go on tours through the dam.

There are three types of hydropower facilities: impoundment, diversion, and

pumped storage. Some hydropower plants use dams and some do not.
Although not all dams were built for hydropower, they have proven useful for pumping
tons of renewable energy to the grid. In the United States, there are more than 90,000
dams, of which less than 2,300 produce power as of 2020. The other dams are used for
recreation, stock/farm ponds, flood control, water supply, and irrigation.
Hydropower plants range in size from small systems suitable for a single home or
village to large projects producing electricity for utilities. Learn more about the sizes of
hydropower plants.

1. IMPOUNDMENT
The most common type of hydroelectric power plant is an impoundment facility. An
impoundment facility, typically a large hydropower system, uses a dam to store river
water in a reservoir. Water released from the reservoir flows through a turbine, spinning
it, which in turn activates a generator to produce electricity. The water may be released
to meet changing electricity needs or other needs, such as flood control, recreation, fish
passage, and other environmental and water quality needs.

2. DIVERSION
A diversion, sometimes called a “run-of-river” facility, channels a portion of a river
through a canal and/or a penstock to utilize the natural decline of the river bed elevation
to produce energy. A penstock is a closed conduit that channels the flow of water to
turbines with water flow regulated by gates, valves, and turbines. A diversion may not
require the use of a dam.
 3. PUMPED STORAGE
Another type of hydropower, called pumped storage hydropower, or PSH, works like a
giant battery. A PSH facility is able to store the electricity generated by other power
sources, like solar, wind, and nuclear, for later use. These facilities store energy by
pumping water from a reservoir at a lower elevation to a reservoir at a higher elevation.

When the demand for electricity is low, a PSH facility stores energy by pumping water
from the lower reservoir to an upper reservoir. During periods of high electrical demand,
the water is released back to the lower reservoir and turns a turbine, generating
electricity.
 SIZES OF HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANTS
Hydropower facilities range in size from large power plants, which supply many
consumers with electricity, to small and even ‘micro’ plants, which are operated by
individuals for their own energy needs or to sell power to utilities.

Large Hydropower

Although definitions vary, DOE defines large hydropower plants as facilities that have a
capacity of more than 30 megawatts (MW).

Small Hydropower

Although definitions vary, DOE defines small hydropower plants as projects that
generate between 100 kilowatts and 10 MW.

Micro Hydropower A micro hydropower plant has a capacity of up to 100 kilowatts. A

small or micro hydroelectric power system can produce enough electricity for a single
home, farm, ranch, or village.