Hydroelectric Energy – Definition, Advantages, and Future

Hydroelectric energy, also known as hydroelectric power or hydroelectricity, is a type of energy that generates electricity by harnessing the power of moving water, such as a waterfall.

Hydroelectric power is the most widely used renewable energy source. China is the world’s greatest hydroelectric power producer. The United States, Brazil, Canada, India, and Russia are among the world’s biggest hydropower producers. Hydropower accounts for over 71% of all renewable electricity generated on the planet.

In terms of energy generation, China’s Three Gorges Dam, which holds back the Yangtze River, is the world’s largest hydroelectric dam. The dam wwf rolex day date mens rolex calibre 2836 2813 118346 hands automatic is 2,335 meters long (7,660 feet) and 185 meters tall (607 feet), with enough generators to generate 22,500 megawatts of electricity.

What Is Hydroelectric Energy and How Does It Work?

The common features of all hydroelectric power plants include:

Types of Hydroelectric Energy Plants

There are three types of hydroelectric energy plants. They are:

Impoundment facility
Diversion facility
Pumped-storage facility

Impoundment facility

In an impoundment facility, we use a dam to control the flow of water stored in a pool or reservoir. Gravity takes over once the water is freed from the reservoir, and valentino pants replica the water flows downward through a turbine. The spinning of the turbine blades powers a generator. The impoundment facility is the most common type of hydroelectric energy plant.

Also Read : Dams- Components of dam – 12 dam components explained

Diversion Facility

A diversion facility is another form of a hydroelectric generating plant. This plant is remarkable in that it does not have a dam. Instead, we channel the flowing river water through a system of canals to the generators that power the turbines.

Pumped-storage Facility

Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH) is a type of hydroelectric energy storage that helps to balance the load in electric power systems. The plant stores energy by pumping water upward from a lower elevation pool to a higher elevation reservoir. We release the water from the higher pool when there is a significant electricity demand. This water turns a turbine to generate more electricity as it flows back down to the lower reservoir.

Low-cost surplus off-peak electric power often powers the pumps. Although the plant is a net consumer of energy due to pumping losses, the system boosts revenue by selling more electricity during peak demand periods, when electricity prices are highest.

Using pumped-storage hydroelectricity, we can save energy from intermittent sources (such as solar and wind) and other renewables, as well as excess electricity from continuous base-load sources (such as coal or nuclear) for times when demand is higher. When compared to typical hydroelectric dams of comparable power output, pumped storage reservoirs are smaller, and generating times are frequently shorter than half a day.

Calculation of Power

We can use the following formula for approximating the electric power production at a hydroelectric power station:

where

$P$ is the hydroelectric power in watts.
(eta) is the coefficient of efficiency. It is a unitless and scalar coefficient that ranges from 0 for a completely inefficient to 1 for a completely efficient process.
$\rho$ (rho) is the density of water which is approximately 1000 kg/m³
${\dot {V}}$ is the volumetric flow rate in m³/s.
${\dot {m}}$ is the mass flow rate of water in kg/s.
$\Delta h$ (Delta h) is the change in height in meters.
$g$ is the acceleration due to gravity (9.8 m/s²)

Efficiency is often higher (that is, closer to 1) with larger and more modern turbines. Annual electric energy production depends on the available water supply.

Advantages of Hydroelectric Energy

Since hydroelectric energy has more benefits than drawbacks, it is the most extensively utilized method of supplying power to homes and businesses at the moment. Let’s look at some of its advantages:

Renewable energy source

We get hydroelectric energy from the fall of water from a reservoir, which in turn feeds on rain. Hence we can produce hydroelectric energy hydraulically as long as we maintain the water cycle and the reservoir does not dry out.

Clean energy source

Extracting hydraulic energy produces no waste, neither physical nor chemical, and no greenhouse emissions.

Safe

It cannot create dangerous mishaps like nuclear energy, and it does not produce harmful pollutants or toxic waste making it safe and environmentally friendly.

Flexible

We can regulate the outflow of the water that drives the turbines, allowing for the generation of more or less electricity as per the requirements.

Cost-effective

It is particularly cost-effective in the long run: while the hydroelectric plant is costly to construct, the energy source is free to renew and is not subject to market fluctuations.

Let’s see the demerits or disadvantages of hydroelectric energy in the next section.

Disadvantages of Hydroelectric Energy

Prone to Droughts

In areas with prolonged droughts, this energy is not viable or requires expensive and difficult jobs, such as diversion from the bed of another river. As a result, seasons with a lot of droughts can be a significant challenge when it comes to generating electricity in this method.

Environmental consequences

It is important to remember that hydropower plant construction alters the ecosystem and negatively impacts the animals and plants as well as water quality.

Finding a suitable location

Finding a suitable location is tough since it must have the appropriate orography and be dependent on the watercourse to get the most out of the land.

Considerable initial investment

The cost of building up a hydroelectric plant is high. Hence the initial investment to create the plant is also high. Furthermore, it will frequently necessitate the expropriation of land, as well as the costs of compensation.

Conclusion

In this blog, we saw the definition of hydroelectricity, its working, advantages and disadvantages. It holds great potential to supply vast amounts of energy, especially in areas which receive ample rainfall throughout the year. Its clean and non-polluting nature definitely keeps it in the top position among renewable energy sources.

That’s it about hydroelectric power. If you have any queries please feel free to ask in the comments section. Happy learning!