What Is Hydropower?

Hydropower (from the Greek word hydor, meaning water) is energy that comes from the force
of moving water. The fall and movement of water is part of a continuous natural cycle called
the water cycle.

Energy from the sun evaporates water in the Earth’s oceans and rivers and draws it upward as
water vapor. When the water vapor reaches the cooler air in the atmosphere, it condenses and
forms clouds. The moisture eventually falls to the Earth as rain or snow, replenishing the water
in the oceans and rivers. Gravity drives the moving water, transporting it from high ground to
low ground. The force of moving water can be extremely powerful.

Hydropower is called a renewable energy source because the water on Earth is continuously
replenished by precipitation. As long as the water cycle continues, we won’t run out of this
energy source.

History of Hydropower

Hydropower has been used for centuries. The Greeks used water wheels to grind wheat into
flour more than 2,000 years ago. In the early 1800s, American and European factories used the
water wheel to power machines.

In the late 19th century, the force of falling water was used to generate electricity. The first
hydroelectric power plant was built on the Fox River in Appleton, WI in 1882. In the following
decades, many more hydroelectric plants were built. At its height in the early 1940s,
hydropower provided 33 percent of this country’s electricity.
By the late 1940s, the best sites for big dams had been developed. Inexpensive fossil fuel plants
also entered the picture. At that time, plants burning coal or oil could make electricity more
cheaply than hydro plants. Soon they began to underprice the smaller hydroelectric plants. It
wasn’t until the oil shocks of the 1970s that people showed a renewed interest in hydropower.

Hydro Dams

Dams are built on rivers where the terrain will produce an artificial lake or reservoir above the
dam. A dam serves two purposes at a hydropower plant. First, a dam increases the head, or
height, of the water. Second, it controls the flow of water. Dams release water when it is
needed for electricity production. Special gates called spillway gates release excess water from
the reservoir during heavy rainfalls.

Hydropower Plants

Hydroelectric power plants use modern turbine generators to produce electricity, just as
thermal (coal, natural gas, nuclear) power plants do, except they do not produce heat to spin
the turbines.

How a Hydropower Plant Works

A typical hydropower plant is a system with three parts:

1. a power plant where the electricity is produced;

2. a dam that can be opened or closed to control water flow; and
3. a reservoir (artificial lake) where water can be stored.
 1. Water in a reservoir behind a hydropower dam flows through an intake screen, which
filters out large debris, but allows fish to pass through.
2. The water travels through a large pipe, called a penstock.
3. The force of the water spins a turbine at a low speed, allowing fish to pass through
unharmed.
4. Inside the generator, the shaft spins coils of copper wire inside a ring of magnets. This
creates an electric field, producing electricity.
5. Electricity is sent to a switchyard, where a transformer increases the voltage, allowing it
to travel through the electric grid.
6. Water flows out of the penstock into the downstream river.

Head and Flow

The amount of electricity that can be generated at a hydro plant is determined by two factors:
head and flow.

Head is how far the water drops. It is the distance from the highest level of the dammed water
to the point where it goes through the power-producing turbine.

Flow is how much water moves through the system—the more water that moves through a
system, the higher the flow. Generally, a high head plant needs less water flow than a low-head
plant to produce the same amount of electricity.

Storing Energy
One of the biggest advantages of a hydropower plant is its ability to store energy. The water in
a reservoir is, after all, stored energy. Water can be stored in a reservoir and released when
needed for electricity production.

Pumped Storage Systems

A pumped storage system operates much like a public fountain does; the same water is used
again and again.

At a pumped storage hydropower plant, flowing water is used to make electricity and then
stored in a lower pool. Depending on how much electricity is needed, the water may be
pumped back to an upper pool. Pumping water to the upper pool requires electricity so hydro
plants usually use pumped storage systems only when there is peak demand for electricity.

Hydropower for Baseload Power

Baseload power is the electricity that utilities have to generate all the time. For that reason,
baseload power should be cheap and reliable. Hydropower meets both of these requirements.
Generating electricity with hydropower is one of the cheapest ways to generate electricity in
the U.S., and the fuel supply—flowing water—is always available.

Economics of Hydropower

Hydropower is the cheapest way to generate electricity today. No other energy source,
renewable or nonrenewable, can match it. Today, it costs less than one cent per kilowatt-hour
(kWh) to produce electricity at a typical hydro plant. In comparison, it costs coal plants about
four cents per kWh and nuclear plants about three cents per kWh to generate electricity.

Producing electricity from hydropower is cheap because, once a dam has been built and the
equipment installed, the energy source—flowing water—is free.

Hydropower and the Environment

Hydropower dams can cause several environmental problems, even though they burn no fuel.
Damming rivers may permanently alter river systems and wildlife habitats. Fish, for one, may no
longer be able to swim upstream.

Hydro plant operations may also affect water quality by churning up dissolved metals that may
have been deposited by industry long ago. Hydropower operations may increase silting, change
water temperatures, and change the levels of dissolved oxygen.

http://www.need.org/files/curriculum/infobook/hydros.pdf
Advantages of Hydroelectric Energy

 A Renewable form of Energy

Hydroelectric power is run by water that is recycled back to the earth through the
process of the water cycle. Though it is evident that water is gradually depleting to some
other place due to environmental and weather conditions, countries with an enormous
source of water make the hydropower a reliable source of energy.

 Clean and safe energy

Unlike the use of fossil fuel, biomass, and nuclear as a source of energy, hydroelectric
energy does not have waste products. No emission and radiation are harmful to the
environment and people, making it a clean and a green source.

 A Reliable source of energy

Hydroelectric power is a reliable source of energy. Hydroelectric energy has a little
instability with regards to the supply of electricity as long as there is water available on
earth. Moreover, the construction of dams is long-lasting, therefore, there will be a
reliable source of hydroelectric energy.

 Flexible energy
The use of hydroelectric energy can be controlled according to the requirements of
energy. If the energy required is less, the flow of water from the dam is also reduced,
otherwise, it will be maximized by uncovering the water tunnels when the required
energy is huge. The adjustment, therefore, is necessary in order to save more energy for
the future use.

 Low Operating Cost.

The hydroelectric energy requires a low cost of maintenance and operation. Since
hydroelectric power has few parts, replacement may be in less necessary. Moreover,
the dams are for long term use, therefore, the supply of energy is also for long time
durations, and a long term for the saving.

Disadvantages of Hydroelectric Energy

 Environmental intervention
 The creation of big reservoirs of water or dams intervenes not only in reshaping and
changing the condition of the bodies of water but also to the condition of the fish
species. The fish in the river can be affected by the draining of the water from the dam
as well as the fish that is in the dam. Creating dams would, therefore, affects the fish
habitats.

 Destroying wetlands/lands
The water that flows from the dam creates a flood on the rivers or in the wetland bodies
affecting the organisms living on it. However, because of the Hydroelectric operation,
these habitats are destroyed as well as the organisms in it. The addition of water somehow
increases the water temperature; thus, many organisms will have to adapt to the
new environment, otherwise, organisms will die.

However, not only that hydroelectric energy affects wetlands but the residences who live near
the dam will also be displaced. Many residences will be forced to relocate and find another new
way of living.

 Expensive construction
Creating hydroelectric power plants and dams need a sufficient budget in order to create a high
standard hydroelectric power. Though hydroelectric energy produces a cheap cost, the
construction of one dam costs approximately $20 billion and takes 18 years to finish.

 Dependency
The hydroelectric power is dependent on the availability of water. However, when drought
comes, the amount of water supply will be limited. When water flow is delayed, high prices of
electric consumption will be the common effect.

 Transformation of the upstream

The construction of dams results in the transformation of the upstream from free-flowing
system to a slack-water reservoir. This leads to the temperature to change as well as the
physical and chemical characteristics of the river or water bodies, making it not suitable for the
plants and aquatic animals that belong in the river. Moreover, dams welcome the invasive
species that destabilized the life of the plants and animals.

 Decreasing effectiveness
The reservoirs’ bed is deposited with silts, sediments, and even mud. When the water is stilled,
more sediments are deposited at the bottom and continue to accumulate affecting the ability of
the dam to hold water. Aside from that, the accumulation of many silts and deposits prevent or
slows down the flow of water to the mouth of the dam. The reducing flow, however, affects the
generation of hydroelectric energy.
  Hydroelectric power failures
A sub-standard construction of dams, geological instability, and the extreme influx of water are
just among of the many causes of dams’ failures. Up to date, about 92 dam failures have already
been recorded that led to the death and flooding. In addition, hydroelectric failures also occur
due to the damage from hydropower stations.

https://www.eartheclipse.com/energy/advantages-disadvantages-hydroelectric-energy.html

Tidal Energy or Tidal Power as it is also called, is another form of hydro power that utilises large
amounts of energy within the oceans tides to generate electricity. Tidal Energy is an “alternative
energy” that can also be classed as a “renewable energy source”, as the Earth uses the gravitational
forces of both the moon and the sun everyday to move vast quantities of water around the oceans and
seas producing tides.

As the Earth, its Moon and the Sun rotate around each other in space, the gravitational movement of
the moon and the sun with respect to the earth, causes millions of gallons of water to flow around the
Earth’s oceans creating periodic shifts in these moving bodies of water. These vertical shifts of water
are called “tides”.

Alignment of the Moon and Sun on Tides

When the earth and the moons gravity lines up with each other, the influences of these two
gravitational forces becomes very strong and causes millions of gallons of water to move or flow
towards the shore creating a “high tide” condition. Likewise when the earth and the moons gravity
are at 90o to each other, the influences of these two gravitational forces is weaker and the water
flows away from the shore as the mass of water moves to another location on the earth, creating a
“low tide” condition. This ebbing and flowing of the tides happens twice during each period of rotation
of the earth with stronger weekly and annual lunar cycles superimposed onto these tides.
History of Tidal Power

The history of tidal power stretches into antiquity. The earliest evidence of the use of the
oceans’ tides for power conversion dates back to about 900 A.D., but it is likely that there
were predecessors lost in the anonymity of prehistory. Early tidal power plants utilized
naturally-occurring tidal basins by building a barrage (dam) across the opening of the
basin and allowing the basin to fill on the rising tide, impounding the water as the tide
fell, and then releasing the impounded water through a waterwheel, paddlewheeel or
similar energy-conversion device.
Tidal Energy Generation

Tidal energy, just like hydro energy transforms water in motion into a clean energy. The motion of the
tidal water, driven by the pull of gravity, contains large amounts of kinetic energy in the form of strong
tidal currents called tidal streams. The daily ebbing and flowing, back and forth of the oceans tides along
a coastline and into and out of small inlets, bays or coastal basins, is little different to the water flowing
down a river or stream.

Working
The ocean tides rise and fall and water can be stored during the rise period and it can be
discharged during fall. A dam is constructed separating the tidal basin from the sea and
a difference in water level is obtained between the basin and sea.

During high tide period, water flows from the sea into the tidal basin
through the water turbine. The height of tide is above that of tidal basin.
Hence the turbine unit operates and generates power, as it is directly
coupled to a generator.
During low tide period, water flows from tidal basin to sea, as the water level
in the basin is more than that of the tide in the sea. During this period also,
the flowing water rotates the turbine and generator power.

The generation of power stops only when the sea level and the tidal basin
level are equal. For the generation of power economically using this source
of energy requires some minimum tide height and suitable site.
http://www.brainkart.com/article/Working-principle-of-Tidal-power-plants_5606/

Types of Tidal Energy Systems

Tidal Barrage – A Tidal Barrage is a type of tidal power generation that involves the construction of a
fairly low dam wall, known as a “barrage” and hence its name, across the entrance of a tidal inlet or
basin creating a tidal reservoir. This dam has a number of underwater tunnels cut into its width allowing
sea water to flow through them in a controllable way using “sluice gates”. Fixed within the tunnels are
huge water turbine generators that spin as the water rushes past them generating tidal electricity.

Tidal barrages generate electricity using the difference in the vertical height between the
incoming high tides and the outgoing low tides. As the tide ebbs and flows, sea water is allowed
to flow in or out of the reservoir through a one way underwater tunnel system. This flow of tidal
water back and forth causes the water turbine generators located within the tunnels to rotate
producing tidal energy with special generators used to produce electricity on both the incoming
and the outgoing tides.

The one disadvantage of Tidal Barrage Generation, is that it can only generate electricity when
the tide is actually flowing either “in” or “out” as during high and low tide times the tidal water
is stationary. However, because tides are totally predictable, other power stations can
compensate for this stationary period when there is no tidal energy being produced. Another
disadvantage of a tidal barrage system, is the environmental and ecological effects that a long
concrete dam may have on the estuaries they span.

Tidal Stream – A Tidal Stream Generation system reduces some of the environmental effects of tidal
barrages by using turbine generators beneath the surface of the water. Major tidal flows and ocean
currents, like the Gulf Stream, can be exploited to extract its tidal energy using underwater rotors and
turbines.

Tidal stream generation is very similar in principal to wind power generation, except this time water
currents flow across a turbines rotor blades which rotates the turbine, much like how wind currents turn
the blades for wind power turbines. In fact, tidal stream generation areas on the sea bed can look just
like underwater wind farms.

As water is much more denser than air and has a much slower flow rate, tidal stream turbines have
much smaller diameters and higher tip speed rates compared to an equivalent wind turbine. Tidal
stream turbines generate tidal power on both the ebb and flow of the tide. One of the disadvantages of
Tidal Stream Generation is that as the turbines are submerged under the surface of the water they can
create hazards to navigation and shipping.

Other forms of tidal energy include tidal fences which use individual vertical-axis turbines that are
mounted within a fence structure, known as the caisson, which completely blocks a channel and force
water through them. Another alternative way of harnessing tidal power is by using an “oscillating tidal
turbine”. This is basically a fixed wing called a Hydroplane positioned on the sea bed. The hydroplane
uses the energy of the tidal stream flowing past it to oscillate its giant wing, similar to a whales flipper,
up and down with the movement of the tidal currents. This motion is then used to generate electricity.
The angle of the hydroplane to the flow of the tide can be varied to increase efficiency.

Hydroelectric Power Facts

 Niagara Falls is the most famous and well known hydroelectric plant in the world

 Hydroelectric Power accounts for 10% of the electricity produced in the USA.

 99% of the electricity produced in Norway is from Hydroelectric Power while in New Zealand the
percentage is 75%.

 The lifespan of hydroelectric plants is around 200 years.

 China is the largest producer of hydroelectricity in the world. USA is currently the fourth largest
producer with a great potential.

Tidal Power Facts

• Tidal movement occurs twice a day by the gravitational effect of the moon.

• Not all seashores are suitable for tidal power exploitation. For a place to be suitable for a Tidal
Energy installation it should have tidal range of more than 7 meters.

• Tidal power installations can provide additional or side benefits to the area of their installation.
Such side benefits can be bridges and roads that can be built over the tidal power installations.

• The first Tidal project in Canada was built in Annapolis Nova Scotia where the highest tides in the
world are harnessed to produce electricity. With a capacity of 20 MW the plant can provide
electricity to about 4500 homes.

• The world’s largest tidal turbine is installed in Scotland.

Dam in the Philippines

DAM BREAKS - Disaster (PH)

Death, disaster blamed on dams

By Jerry Botial | Updated October 1, 2009 - 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines - The unannounced release of water from dams at the height of tropical storm
“Ondoy” may have caused the massive flooding that killed close to 300 people in Metro Manila and
nearby provinces, according to some survivors.

The Angat Dam in Bulacan released water last Saturday but authorities denied that it was the cause of
the massive flooding.

Easing pressure

Meanwhile, for the second time in three days, Angat Dam in Norzagaray, Bulacan released water on
Tuesday as threats of another tropical storm loom.

Russel Rigor of the flood forecasting division of the National Power Corp., which manages the Angat
Dam, said they would have to lower the dam’s water elevation to 210 meters to accommodate more
rainfall from typhoon “Pepeng.” As of yesterday morning, the dam’s water elevation was at 213.69
meters.

Rodolfo German, general manger of the Angat Hydro Electric Power Plant of Napocor, said the
dam can hold water up to 216 meters.

German also clarified that water release from Angat Dam would only affect towns along the 50-
kilometer Angat River.

These are Norzagaray, Angat, Bustos, San Rafael, Baliuag, Pulilan, Plaridel, Calumpit,
Paombong and Hagonoy.

DAM BREAKS - Disaster (INT’L)

The Sayano-Shushenskaya dam accident

On August 17th, near Sayanogorsk in south central Russia, a catastrophic accident took place in the
turbine and transformer rooms of the hydroelectric plant of the Sayano-Shushenskaya dam. The exact
cause is still under investigation, but what is known so far is that a tremendous amount of water from
the Yenisei River flooded the turbine room, causing at least one transformer explosion and extensive
damage to all ten turbines, destroying at least three of them. 74 workers are known to have lost their
lives in the accident, while one remains missing. Additionally, 40 tons of transformer oil were spilled into
the river, killing an estimated 400 tons of trout in two fisheries. Investigators plan to release findings in
two months, as Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called for a nationwide infrastructure inspection.

The Teton dam failure

On June 5, 1976, Teton Dam in southeastern Idaho catastrophically failed. Early that Saturday morning,
bulldozer operators tried in vain to plug seepage holes on the downstream face of the dam. By 11 a.m.,
a torrent of water ripped through the dam, releasing more than one million cubic feet per second. The
communities of Sugar City, Rexburg, and Wilford were battered by the trees, houses, cattle and cars
carried by the floodwaters. In the end, 11 people died and there was millions of dollars in property
damage.

China Three Gorges Dam Flooding

Dam in the Quiantang River

Thousands of people gathered in Hainin City, Zhejiang Province, to see how millions of cubic meters of
seawater are moving against the current of the river, skirting small islets, then breaking up into a local
dam. The wave travels up to 55 kilometers and sometimes reaches 9 meters in height.