HYDROPOWER

ARIZONA PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY

WHAT IS HYDROPOWER?
Hydro means water in Latin. It is the most often used source of renewable energy used to make electricity.

HOW WAS HYDROPOWER USED IN THE PAST?

For hundreds of years, moving water was used to turn wooden wheels that were attached to grinding wheels to grind flour or corn. The Greeks used water wheels more than 2,000 years ago. These were known as water mills or grist mills. Water can go over the top of the wheel placed in the moving water.

The flow of the water turns the wheel at the bottom.

HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANTS

Hydroelectric power plants are known as Hydro Dams. The water behind the dam flows through an intake pipe, then into a pipe called a penstock. The water pushes against blades in a turbine, causing them to turn. The turbine spins a generator to produce electricity. Hydro power can be found in the mountainous areas of states where there are lakes and reservoirs and along rivers. A reservoir is a man-made lake created by building a dam to store water from a river.

WATER
Water is constantly moving through a cycle: Water vapor rises into the atmosphere through evaporation from lakes and oceans and transpiration from plants and trees. It condenses to form clouds. Then rain or snow falls back to the earth to the oceans and lakes.
Transpiration Condensation

Evaporation Lake precipitation

Transpiration is the evaporation of water into the atmosphere from the leaves and stems of plants.

HOW HYDROPOWER WORKS

The energy of water moving downstream from the rain and snow can be turned into electricity which is known as hydropower or hydroelectric power.

Another source of hydroelectricity is tidal electricity which uses the tides from the ocean to make electricity.

Hoover Dam Intake Towers, where the water goes to make electricity

How should these diagrams be organized? Shaft and Turbine Wheel

Generators that create electricity

Electric Grid

HOW A HYDROPOWER PLANT WORKS

1
Water goes to
Intake towers

2
Shaft and Turbine Wheel

3
Generators

1. Water goes into the Penstock Pipe at high speed through the Intake Towers 2. And then goes to a Turbine Wheel 3. The Turbine Wheel spins the rotor of the Generator and makes AC electricity, 4. The electricity goes to the electrical grid to be used in your home, in stores and in manufacturing plants.

4
Electric Grid

Dams in Arizona

DAM CAPACITY HOOVER DAM Base is 45,000 square feet, Lake Mead is 247 square miles or 1.5 million acres GLEN CANYON DAM Lake is 27,000 acre feet or 266 square miles DAVIS DAM Lake Mohave, is 1,818,300 acre feet or 44 square miles PARKER DAM 44 square miles, can store 211 billion gallons of water THEODORE ROOSEVELT DAM Roosevelt lake 1,653,043 acre feet

PARKER DAM Can store 211 billion gallons of water HORSESHOE DAM Horseshoe Lake is 131,427 acre feet BARTLETT DAM Bartlett Lake is 178,186 acre feet

Calculate the weight of each body of water

DAM CAPACITY HOOVER DAM Base is 45,000 square feet, Lake Mead is 247 square miles or 1.5 million acres GLEN CANYON DAM Lake is 27,000 acre feet or 266 square miles DAVIS DAM Lake Mohave, is 1,818,300 acre feet or 44 square miles PARKER DAM 44 square miles, can store 211 billion gallons of water THEODORE ROOSEVELT DAM Roosevelt lake 1,653,043 acre feet

PARKER DAM Can store 211 billion gallons of water HORSESHOE DAM Horseshoe Lake is 131,427 acre feet BARTLETT DAM Bartlett Lake is 178,186 acre feet,

Which dams produces electricity?

HYDRO TRIVIA
Water weighs 62.5 lbs. per cubic foot There are 43,560 square feet in an acre There are 2000 lbs. in a ton
Horseshoe Lake contains 131,427 acre feet

131,427 acre feet = 131,427 x 43,560 cubic feet = 5,724,960,120 cubic feet

5,724,960,120 cubic feet weighs: 5,724,960,120 x 62.5 lbs. = 357,810,007,500 lbs.

357,810,007,500 lbs. / 2000 lbs. (1 ton) = 178,905,004 tons

Horseshoe Lake weighs 178,905,004 tons

Additional Sources of Information

http://www.watersheds.org/places/mills.htm Pictures courtesy of Andy Pernick, official photographer at the Hoover Dam, APERNICK@lc.usbr.gov http://www.srpnet.com/water/dams/default.aspx

Janet Crow, APS Outreach Coordinator, 602-250-4990 or janet.crow@aps.com