LARA JANE A.

LOPEGA
CE501-CE51FB2

Hydroelectric Power Plant

Hydroelectricity is electricity produced from hydropower. In 2015 hydropower generated

16.6% of the world's total electricity and 70% of all renewable electricity, and was expected to

increase about 3.1% each year for the next 25 years. Hydropower is produced in 150 countries,

with the Asia-Pacific region generating 33 percent of global hydropower in 2013. China is the

largest hydroelectricity producer, with 920 TWh of production in 2013, representing 16.9 percent

of domestic electricity use.

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
LARA JANE A. LOPEGA
CE501-CE51FB2
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, electric-power demand 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.

The cost of hydroelectricity is relatively low, making it a competitive source of

renewable electricity. The hydro station consumes no water, unlike coal or gas plants. The

average cost of electricity from a hydro station larger than 10 megawatts is 3 to 5 U.S. cents per

kilowatt-hour. With a dam and reservoir it is also a flexible source of electricity since the amount

produced by the station can be changed up or down very quickly to adapt to changing energy

demands. Once a hydroelectric complex is constructed, the project produces no direct waste, and

in many cases, has a considerably lower output level of greenhouse gases than fossil fuel

powered energy plants

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

storage. Some hydropower plants use dams and some do not. Many dams were built for other

purposes and hydropower was added later. In the United States, there are about 80,000 dams of

which only 2,400 produce power. The other dams are for recreation, stock/farm ponds, flood

control, water supply, and irrigation. Hydropower plants range in size from small systems for a

home or village to large projects producing electricity for utilities.