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Renewable energy sources worldwide in 2005 (2004 for items marked * or **). Off-grid electric and ground source heat pumps not included. Source: REN21[1] Some jurisdictions do not consider large hydro projects to be a sustainable energy source due to human and environmental impacts[2]. Renewable energy
Biofuels Biomass Geothermal Hydro power Solar power Tidal power Wave power Wind power
Contents
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1 Electricity generation 2 Industrial hydroelectric plants 3 Small-scale hydro-electric plants 4 Advantages o 4.1 Economics o 4.2 Greenhouse gas emissions o 4.3 Related activities 5 Disadvantages o 5.1 Environmental damage o 5.2 Greenhouse gas emissions o 5.3 Population relocation o 5.4 Dam failures 6 Comparison with other methods of power generation 7 Countries with the most hydro-electric capacity 8 Old hydro-electric power stations o 8.1 Northern hemisphere o 8.2 Southern hemisphere 9 Major schemes under construction 10 Proposed Major Hydro-electric Project 11 See also 12 References 13 External links
Hydroelectric dam in cross section Main article: Electricity generation Most hydroelectric power comes from the potential energy of dammed water driving a water turbine and generator. In this case the energy extracted from the water depends on the volume and on the difference in height between the source and the water's outflow. This height difference is called the head. The amount of potential energy in water is proportional to the head. To obtain very high head, water for a hydraulic turbine may be run through a large pipe called a penstock. Pumped storage hydroelectricity produces electricity to supply high peak demands by moving water between reservoirs at different elevations. At times of low electrical demand, excess generation capacity is used to pump water into the higher reservoir. When there is higher demand, water is released back into the lower reservoir through a turbine. Pumped storage schemes currently provide the only commercially important means of large-scale grid energy storage and improve the daily load factor of the generation system. Hydroelectric plants with no reservoir capacity are called run-of-the-river plants, since it is not then possible to store water. A tidal power plant makes use of the daily rise and fall of water due to tides; such sources are highly predictable, and if conditions permit construction of reservoirs, can also be dispatchable to generate power during high demand periods. Less common types of hydro schemes use water's kinetic energy or undammed sources such as undershot waterwheels. A simple formula for approximating electric power production at a hydroelectric plant is: P = hrk, where P is Power in watts, h is height in meters, r is flow rate in cubic meters per second, and k is a conversion factor of 7500 watts (assuming an efficiency factor of about 76.5 percent and acceleration due to gravity of 9.81 m/s2, and fresh water with a density of 1000 kg per cubic metre. Efficiency is often higher with larger modern turbines and may be lower with very old or small installations due to proportionately higher friction losses). Annual electric energy production depends on the available water supply. In some installations the water flow rate can vary by a factor of 10:1 over the course of a year.
[edit] Advantages
The upper reservoir and dam of the Ffestiniog pumped storage scheme. 360 megawatts of electricity can be generated within 60 seconds of the need arising.
[edit] Economics
The major advantage of hydroelectricity is elimination of the cost of fuel. The cost of operating a hydroelectric plant is nearly immune to increases in the cost of fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas or coal. Fuel is not required and so it need not be imported. Hydroelectric plants tend to have longer economic lives than fuel-fired generation, with some plants now in service having been built 50 to 100 years ago. Operating labor cost is usually low since plants are automated and have few personnel on site during normal operation. Where a dam serves multiple purposes, a hydroelectric plant may be added with relatively low construction cost, providing a useful revenue stream to offset the costs of dam operation. It has been calculated that the sale of electricity from the Three Gorges Dam will cover the construction costs after 5 to 8 years of full generation.[4]
[edit] Disadvantages
Recreational users must exercise extreme care when near hydroelectric dams, power plant intakes and spillways.[5]
of riverbanks. Since turbine gates are often opened intermittently, rapid or even daily fluctuations in river flow are observed. For example, in the Grand Canyon, the daily cyclic flow variation caused by Glen Canyon Dam was found to be contributing to erosion of sand bars. Dissolved oxygen content of the water may change from pre-construction conditions. Depending on the location, water exiting from turbines is typically much warmer than the pre-dam water, which can change aquatic faunal populations, including endangered species, and prevent natural freezing processes from occurring. Some hydroelectric projects also use canals to divert a river at a shallower gradient to increase the head of the scheme. In some cases, the entire river may be diverted leaving a dry riverbed. Examples include the Tekapo and Pukaki Rivers. A further concern is the impact of major schemes on birds. Since damming and redirecting the waters of the Platte River in Nebraska for agricultural and energy use, many native and migratory birds such as the Piping Plover and Sandhill Crane have become increasingly endangered.
The pipes supplying water from the River Clyde to Bonnington hydroelectric power station, Scotland. The reservoirs of power plants in tropical regions may produce substantial amounts of methane and carbon dioxide. This is due to plant material in flooded areas decaying in an anaerobic environment, and forming methane, a very potent greenhouse gas. According to the World Commission on Dams report, where the reservoir is large compared to the generating capacity (less than 100 watts per square metre of surface area) and no clearing of the forests in the area was undertaken
prior to impoundment of the reservoir, greenhouse gas emissions from the reservoir may be higher than those of a conventional oil-fired thermal generation plant.[7] These emissions represent carbon already in the biosphere, not fossil deposits that had been sequestered from the carbon cycle. In boreal reservoirs of Canada and Northern Europe, however, greenhouse gas emissions are typically only 2 to 8% of any kind of conventional fossil-fuel thermal generation. A new class of underwater logging operation that targets drowned forests can mitigate the effect of forest decay.[8] Discussions to exclude hydropower facilities from obtaining carbon credits under the Clean Development Mechanism are starting to take place, most recently at the UN Climate Change Conference 2007 in Bali, Indonesia.[9]
Hydroelectric Reservoir Vianden, Luxembourg Hydroelectricity eliminates the flue gas emissions from fossil fuel combustion, including pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, nitric oxide, carbon monoxide, dust, and mercury in the coal. Hydroelectricity also avoids the hazards of coal mining and the indirect health effects of coal emissions. Compared to nuclear power, hydroelectricity generates no nuclear waste, has none of the dangers associated with uranium mining, nor nuclear leaks. Unlike uranium, hydroelectricity is also a renewable energy source. Compared to wind farms, hydroelectricity power plants have a more predictable load factor. If the project has a storage reservoir, it can be dispatched to generate power when needed. Hydroelectric plants can be easily regulated to follow variations in power demand. Unlike fossil-fueled combustion turbines, construction of a hydroelectric plant requires a long lead-time for site studies, hydrological studies, and environmental impact assessment. Hydrological data up to 50 years or more is usually required to determine the best sites and operating regimes for a large hydroelectric plant. Unlike plants operated by fuel, such as fossil or nuclear energy, the number of sites that can be economically developed for hydroelectric production is limited; in many areas the most cost effective sites have already been exploited. New hydro sites tend to be far from population centers and require extensive
transmission lines. Hydroelectric generation depends on rainfall in the watershed, and may be significantly reduced in years of low rainfall or snowmelt. Long-term energy yield may be affected by climate change. Utilities that primarily use hydroelectric power may spend additional capital to build extra capacity to ensure sufficient power is available in low water years. In parts of Canada (the provinces of British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador) hydroelectricity is used so extensively that the word "hydro" is often used to refer to any electricity delivered by a power utility. The government-run power utilities in these provinces are called BC Hydro, Manitoba Hydro, Hydro One (formerly "Ontario Hydro"), Hydro-Qubec and Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro respectively. Hydro-Qubec is the world's largest hydroelectric generating company, with a total installed capacity (2005) of 31,512 MW.
Appleton, Wisconsin, USA completed 1882, A waterwheel on the Fox river supplied the first commercial hydroelectric power for lighting to two paper mills and a house, two years after Thomas Edison demonstrated incandescent lighting to the public. Within a matter of weeks of this installation, a power plant was also put into commercial service at Minneapolis. Niagara Falls, New York. For many years the largest hydroelectric power station in the world. Operation began locally in 1895 and power was transmitted to Buffalo, New York, in 1896. Decew Falls 1, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada completed 25 August 1898. Owned by Ontario Power Generation. Four units are still operational. Recognized as an IEEE Milestone in Electrical Engineering & Computing by the IEEE Executive Committee in 2002. It is believed that the oldest Hydro Power site in the United States is located on Claverack Creek, in Stottville, New York. The turbine, a Morgan Smith, was constructed in 1869 and installed 2 years later. It is one of the earliest water wheel installations in the United States to generate electricity. It is owned today by Edison Hydro.[citation needed] The oldest continuously-operated commercial hydroelectric plant in the United States is built on the Hudson River at Mechanicville, New York. The seven 750 kW units at this station initially supplied power at a frequency of 38 Hz, but later were increased in speed to 40 Hz. It went into commercial service July 22,1898. It is now being restored to its original condition and remains in commercial operation. [13] The oldest continuously-operated hydroelectric generator in Canada is located in St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada. Part of the construction of the Milltown Cotton Mill, this rope-driven generator originally powered the electric lights for the mill when it opened in 1882, and in 1888 started providing power to homes in the town. NB Power now owns and operates this as part of the Milltown Dam hydroelectric station.
Duck Reach, Launceston, Tasmania. Completed 1895. The first publicly owned hydro-electric plant in the Southern Hemisphere. Supplied power to the city of Launceston for street lighting.
Name
Comments Largest power plant in the world. First power in July 2003, with 12,600 MW installed by October 2007. Construction once stopped due to lack of environmental impact study.
Xiluodu Dam 12,600 MW China Longtan Dam 6,300 MW Xiangjiaba 6,000 MW Dam Nuozhadu 5,850 MW Dam China China China
December 26 2015 2005 July 1 2001 December 2009 November 26 2015 2006 2006 2017
China
January 30 2007
2014
To build this dam, 23 families and 129 local residents need to be moved. It works with Jinping 1 Hydropower Station as a group.
Laxiwa Dam Xiaowan Dam Jinping 1 Hydropower Station Pubugou Dam Goupitan Dam Boguchan Dam Chapetn Jinanqiao Dam
China China China China China Russia Argentina China China Venezuela
April 18 2006 2010 January 1 December 2012 2002 November 11 2014 2005 March 30 2004 November 8 2003 1980 2010 2011 2012
last development in the Low Caroni Basin totalizing six power plant in the same river, including the 10,000MW Guri Dam. Bureya Dam 2,010 MW Ahai Dam 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri 2,000 MW Dam Russia China India 1978 July 27 2006 2005 2009
2009
Red Sea dam 50,000 MW Middle East Unknown Baihetan 12,000 MW Dam Wudongde 7,000 MW Dam Maji Dam 4,200 MW Songta Dam 4,200 MW Liangjiaren 4,000 MW Dam Jirau Dam 3,300 MW Pati Dam 3,300 MW Santo 3,150 MW Antnio Dam Guanyinyan 3,000 MW Dam Lianghekou 3,000 MW Dam Lower 2,800 MW Churchill Liyuan Dam 2,400 MW Dagangshan 2,300 MW Dam China China China China China Brazil Argentina Brazil China China Canada China China 2009 2009 2008 2008 2009 2007 2007 2009 2009 2009 2008 2009
2015
China China
2009 2009
2015 2015