1. HYDROPOWER (Current)

2. Basic Description Current hydropower is a renewable energy source, but it's not very common (EIA). The amount of power produced depends of the speed of the flow of water (EIA). Places like Niagara Falls produce lots of energy. The energy is captured by underwater turbines attached to the bottom of a river or ocean (ocsenergy.gov).

3. Basic Description Photos Niagara Falls Source: thetravels.net Source: Minerals Management Service

4. History of Current Hydropower Hydropower is a very old source of energy. Thousands of years ago, is was used to grind grain (EIA). On September 30, 1882, near Appleton, Wisconsin, the first hydroelectric power plant opened in the U.S. (EIA). The reason they didn't have power plants sooner was because the plants needed to be near water. The technology to send electricity over a longer distance hadn't been invented yet (EIA).

5. Where Current Hydropower is found and How it's Recovered It's found on the bottom of the ocean or rivers where there is a relatively stable current (Bernitsas). Turbines are attached to the ocean floor buy cables, and as the current flows past, it spins the turbines (Bernitsas). The turbines are attached to generators. The electricity is produced and transported over land (Bernitsas).

6. Where Current Hydropower is found and How it's Recovered Photos Businessweek.com PublicDomainPictures.net Turbines Bottom of River

7. How Current Hydropower is Stored and How it's Released After the turbines capture the current's energy, it travels through underwater lines to a power plant. It flows through transmission lines to the smaller distribution lines in a neighborhood. Then from those distribution lines, the electricity flows into your home. www.need.org/needpdf/NOV08EE%20INT%20game%20posters.pdf

8. How Current Hydropower is Stored and How it's Released Photos Science.smith.edu Scientificamerican.com

9. How Current Hydropower is Used Today Current hydropower is not very popular right now. There are still many scientists experimenting with it, trying to find the design that benefits the economy best (Drye). Scientists hope that one day, a single farm of underwater turbines will power thousands of homes (Bernitsas). Engineers are still testing it to see if it's possible to make a good profit off of it (Drye).

10. How Current Hydropower is Used Today Photos Underwater Turbine Farm Syracuse.com

11. Advantages of Current Hydropower The only part of the turbines you would see would be the cables running onto the shore (Drye). It wouldn't pollute the air (EIA). cameron4gfs.glogster.com Water is also about 800 times denser than air so it would create more energy (Drye).

12. Disadvantages of Current Hydropower The noise and presence of the turbines might affect the marine life that lives there (Drye). People also would have to be aware of them when they are fishing and diving as well (Drye). It would also cost a lot of money to fix the turbines. The water would cause them to rust and break down (ocsenergy.gov 2).

13. Disadvantages of Current Hydropower Photos Divers Marine Life travelblog.org dep.state.fl.us

14. Economic Impacts of Current Hydropower It might cost a lot of money to keep the turbines clean (ocsenergy.gov). Engineers don't know how reliable the turbines will be, and it could possibly cost a lot to constantly fix them (ocsenergy.gov). Boats would have to be aware of where the turbines were (ocsenergy.gov).

15. Economic Impacts of Current Hydropower Photos Boats would have to be aware of the machines

16. Environmental Impacts of Current Hydropower The turbine blades have the potential to injure marine life like fish (ocsenergy.gov). It could affect the mixing of water. That would cause the temperature of the water to rise, affecting the marine life that lives there. (ocsenergy.gov). It could possibly slow the current flow (ocsenergy.gov).

17. Environmental Impacts of Current Hydropower Photos The blades could harm marine life. The temperature of the water might rise iminent.com images.businessweek.com

18. The Future of Current Hydropower People are still doing more research on current hydropower, and just hydropower in general (aboutmyplanet.com). Scientists believe that the ocean has a lot of untapped energy, but they still need to figure out how to harness it (aboutmyplanet.com). They believe that the machines that stay submerged underwater during storms will be more effective than the ones on top of the water (aboutmyplanet.com).

19. The Future of Current Hydropower Photos Submerged vs. On Top of the Water thewindenergy.net

20. Facts about Current Hydropower The turbines underwater spin a lot more slowly than wind turbines (National Geographic). When water is moving 12 miles per hour, it has about the same amount of energy as wind that is moving 110 miles per hour (ocsenergy.gov). Scientists believe that if you took 1/1000 of the energy from the Gulf Stream, it would provide Florida with 35% of the electricity it needs (ocsenergy.gov).

21. Facts about Current Hydropower Photos Gulf Stream

22. Works Cited Bernitsas, Michael. “A NEW WAVE OF HYDRPOWER.” EBSCOhost. 2009. Web. 22, Mar. 2011. Drye, Willie. “Turning River Current Into Electricity.” National Geographic. 21, Mar. 2010. Web. 23, Mar. 2011. Energy Kids. “Hydropower.” EIA Energy Kids – Hydropower. Unknown. Web. 22, Mar. 2011. Hanes, Marina. “A Hydropowered Future.” About My Planet. Unknown. Web. 23, Mar. 2011. OCS Alternative Energy and Alternate Use Programmatic EIS. “Ocean Current Energy.” ocsenergy.gov. unknown. Web. 23, Mar. 2011.