By: Kelly Brown Matt Burger Hydroelectric Power By: Kelly Brown Matt Burger

How does hydroelectric power work? Most hydroelectric power is produced by potential energy of dammed water, which is driving a water turbine and generator. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htT_8sFJx1w&feature=player_embedded

How a hydroelectric dam works. To build a dam you usually need a large river that has a large drop in elevation. The dam stores a lot of water behind it in a reservoir. Towards the bottom of the dam there is a water intake, which causes gravity to fall through he penstock in side the dam. At the end of the penstock there is a turbine propeller, which works by water moving it. The shaft from the turbine goes up into the generator which produces the power. Then the generator has power lines that are connected to it which gives homes power.

Advantages of Hydroelectricity. Less of a dependence on uranium, oil, or other types of fuel. Pollution is very minimal. The dams can be set up in almost any size, depending upon the river or stream used to operate them. Hydroelectric stations can operate for many years after they are built.

Disadvantages of Hydroelectricity. The dams disrupt the natural flow of rivers, which will alter the river and riverside habitat. Impedes the natural flow of sediments. The dams are obstacles for fish migration. A catastrophic failure, meaning if the dam were to break many people may die that live around the dam.

More Information… 2% of dams in the United States are used to make hydroelectricity. About 20% of the world’s electricity comes from hydropower, about 10% is used in the United States. Above all other countries, Canada is the leading producer in hydropower. Over one half of the total U.S. hydroelectric capacity for electricity generation is concentrated into three states: Washington, California and Oregon.

More Information… The plants are very hard to make, people have to put a lot of time and effort into making them. Some problems with there construction are that that have to have 50 years of data before then can even build where they want to build a dam. The dams are very expensive to build.

Works Cited http://home.clara.net/darvill/altenerg/hydro.htm#dis http://www.brighthub.com/engineering/mechanical/articles/7730.aspx http://www.williams.edu/Geoscience/greenenergy/hydroelectric.htm http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/hyhowworks.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroelectricity