Wiktor Wise
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Humans have been harnessing water to perform work for thousands of years. The evolution of the modern hydropower turbine began in the mid-1700s when a French hydraulic and military engineer, Bernard Forest de Bélidor, wrote the groundbreaking Architecture Hydraulique. In 1880, a dynamo driven by a water turbine provided lighting to a theatre and storefront in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Hydroelectric power stations continued to become larger throughout the 20th century. Hoover Dam's initial 1,345 MW power station was the world's largest hydroelectric power station in 1936; it was surpassed in 1942 by the 6,809 MW Grand Coulee Dam. Today, the energy necessary to turn the machinery that creates electricity can come from nuclear power, fossil fuels, or the power of moving water.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of invention | The evolution of the modern hydropower turbine began in the mid-1700s. |
| Inventor | French hydraulic and military engineer, Bernard Forest de Bélidor, wrote the groundbreaking "Architecture Hydraulique". |
| Other notable contributors | Thomas Edison, Tesla, George Westinghouse, James Francis |
| Use of electricity | In 1880, a dynamo driven by a water turbine provided lighting to a theatre and storefront in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 1881, a similar setup provided street lighting at Niagara Falls, New York. |
| Current use | Hydropower supplied 15% of the world's electricity in 2023. |
| Environmental impact | Hydroelectric dams do not produce carbon dioxide during operation, but their construction can lead to the release of carbon dioxide and methane. They can also cause the loss of arable land, population displacement, and disruption to natural river ecosystems. |
| Notable hydroelectric dams | Hoover Dam, Grand Coulee Dam, Itaipu Dam, Three Gorges Dam |
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What You'll Learn
The evolution of hydropower turbines
Hydropower, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from water power. Humans have been harnessing water to perform work for thousands of years. The evolution of the modern hydropower turbine began in the mid-1700s when French hydraulic and military engineer Bernard Forest de Bélidor wrote the groundbreaking "Architecture Hydraulique".
In 1827, French engineer Benoît Fourneyron developed the first version of the Fourneyron reaction turbine, producing around 6 horsepower. In 1849, British-American engineer James Francis developed the first modern water turbine, the Francis Turbine, which remains the most widely used water turbine in the world today. The Francis Turbine has a runner with fixed blades, usually nine or more. Water is introduced just above the runner, which then falls through, causing the blades to spin.
In 1878, the world's first hydroelectric project was used to power a single lamp in the Cragside country house in Northumberland, England. In 1880, a dynamo driven by a water turbine provided arc lighting to a theatre and storefront in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 1881, a dynamo connected to a turbine in a flour mill provided street lighting at Niagara Falls, New York. Both of these used direct current technology.
In the 1870s, American Inventor Lester Allan Pelton invented the Pelton wheel, an impulse water turbine patented in 1880. The Pelton wheel was developed to accommodate larger water flows and lower heads than the original design. Into the 20th century, Austrian professor Viktor Kaplan developed the Kaplan turbine in 1913, a propeller-type turbine with adjustable blades.
Hydroelectric power stations continued to become larger throughout the 20th century. Hoover Dam's initial 1,345 MW power station was the world's largest hydroelectric power station in 1936, but it was soon eclipsed by other larger dams, such as the Grand Coulee Dam, the Itaipu Dam, and the Three Gorges Dam.
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The environmental impact of hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower or water power. It is a significant component of electricity production worldwide, supplying 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023. Hydropower is the most important and widely used renewable source of energy.
While hydroelectricity has many advantages, the construction of a hydroelectric complex can have a significant environmental impact. The environmental impact of hydroelectricity is discussed in detail below:
Loss of Arable Land and Population Displacement
The flooding of land for a hydroelectric reservoir can have extreme environmental impacts, including the destruction of forests, wildlife habitats, agricultural land, and scenic lands. In many instances, entire communities have had to be relocated to make way for reservoirs. For example, the large Balbina hydroelectric plant in Brazil flooded 2,360 square kilometers of land, an area the size of Delaware, and it only provides 250 MW of power-generating capacity.
Obstruction of Fish Migration
Dams and reservoirs can obstruct fish migration and affect their populations. Different approaches to fixing this problem include the construction of fish ladders and elevators that help fish move around or over dams to their spawning grounds upstream.
Changes to Water Temperatures and River Flow
Operating a hydroelectric power plant can change the natural water temperatures, water chemistry, river flow characteristics, and silt loads. These changes can harm native plants and animals in and around the river.
Increased Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Tropical Regions
Hydroelectric dams do not produce carbon dioxide during operation since they do not use fuel. However, carbon dioxide is produced during the construction of the project, and reservoirs emit methane annually. In tropical regions, the reservoirs of power stations produce larger amounts of methane, leading to higher greenhouse gas emissions.
Impact on Aquatic Ecosystems
Hydroelectric facilities can impact aquatic ecosystems, and fish and other organisms can be injured or killed by turbine blades. Reservoir water is usually more stagnant than normal river water, leading to higher amounts of sediments and nutrients, which can cultivate an excess of algae and other aquatic weeds.
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How hydroelectricity works
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is a renewable source of energy that generates power by using a dam or diversion structure to alter the natural flow of a river or other body of water. Hydropower relies on the endless, constantly recharging system of the water cycle to produce electricity. The water cycle has three steps: solar energy heats water on the surface of rivers, lakes, and oceans, causing it to evaporate; water vapour condenses into clouds and falls as precipitation (rain and snow); and precipitation collects in streams and rivers, which empty into oceans and lakes, where the cycle begins again.
Hydropower facilities are powered by the kinetic energy of flowing water as it moves downstream. They use turbines and generators to convert kinetic energy into electricity, which is then fed into the electrical grid to power homes, businesses, and industries. The amount of energy available from moving water depends on the volume of water flow and the change in elevation, or head, from one point to another. In general, the greater the water flow and the higher the head, the more electricity a hydropower plant can produce.
At hydropower plants, water flows through a pipe, or penstock, and then pushes against and turns blades in a turbine, spinning a generator to produce electricity. There are several types of hydropower facilities, including run-of-the-river systems, where the force of the river's current applies pressure on a turbine, and storage systems, where water accumulates in reservoirs created by dams and is released through hydro turbines as needed to generate electricity.
Pumped-storage hydropower facilities are another type of hydroelectric storage system, where water is pumped from a water source up to a storage reservoir at a higher elevation. The water is then released from the upper reservoir to power hydro turbines located below. Pumped-storage facilities generally use more electricity to pump water to the upper reservoirs than they produce with the stored water, resulting in a net negative electricity generation balance.
Hydropower is one of the oldest sources of energy for producing mechanical and electrical energy and has been used for thousands of years. The Greeks used water wheels for grinding wheat into flour more than 2,000 years ago, while the Egyptians used Archimedes water screws for irrigation during the third century B.C. The evolution of the modern hydropower turbine began in the mid-1700s with the work of French engineer Bernard Forest de Bélidor. The first industrial use of hydropower to generate electricity in the United States was in 1880 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the first hydroelectric power plant to sell electricity opened in 1882.
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The history of hydroelectric power plants
Humans have been harnessing water to perform work for thousands of years. The Greeks used water wheels for grinding wheat into flour over 2,000 years ago, and the Egyptians used Archimedes water screws for irrigation in the third century BC. However, the history of hydroelectric power plants specifically is much more recent.
The evolution of the modern hydropower turbine began in the mid-1700s when French hydraulic and military engineer Bernard Forest de Bélidor wrote the groundbreaking "Architecture Hydraulique". In the early 1800s, Italian scientist Alessandro Volta created a battery capable of holding an electrical charge, and in 1831, English physicist and chemist Michael Faraday discovered that electricity could be created using a magnet and copper wire.
The world's first hydroelectric project was used to power a single lamp in the Cragside country house in Northumberland, England, in 1878. Just four years later, in 1880, a dynamo driven by a water turbine provided arc lighting to a theatre and storefront in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 1881, a similar setup provided street lighting at Niagara Falls, New York. By the end of the century, the technology was spreading globally, with Germany producing the first three-phase hydro-electric system in 1891 and Australia launching the first publicly-owned plant in the Southern Hemisphere in 1895.
Hydroelectric power stations continued to become larger throughout the 20th century. The Hoover Dam's initial 1,345 MW power station was the world's largest hydroelectric power station in 1936, but it was soon eclipsed by larger and more powerful plants. Today, hydroelectric power is a key element for creating secure and clean electricity supply systems, providing 15% of the world's electricity.
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Dams in ancient times
The use of dams dates back to ancient times, with the earliest known dam being the Jawa Dam in Jordan, dating back to 3000 BC. This dam featured a 9-metre-high stone wall supported by an earthen rampart and was likely used for water control. Other ancient dams include the Great Dam of Marib in Yemen, built between 1750 and 1700 BC, and the Sadd-el-Kafara Dam in Egypt, built around 2800 or 2600 BC for flood control.
Ancient civilisations such as the Greeks and Egyptians also harnessed water power for tasks such as grinding wheat and irrigation. The Romans were particularly notable for their advancements in hydraulic engineering and dam construction, with the introduction of large reservoir dams and the use of hydraulic mortar and concrete, allowing for larger structures. The Subiaco Dams, constructed around 60 AD, included the tallest dam in the world at the time, standing at 165 feet tall.
Asian cultures also contributed to ancient dam engineering, with the construction of earthen embankment dams in Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka) as early as 400 BCE. The Sinhalese in the 5th century AD built several dams to form reservoirs for their irrigation system, and many of these are still in use today. Japan and India also constructed some of the oldest dams that are still operational.
The era of large dams was initiated with the construction of the Aswan Low Dam in Egypt in 1902, marking a transition towards larger-scale dam projects. The Hoover Dam, constructed between 1931 and 1936, became the world's largest hydroelectric power station at the time, with a capacity of 1,345 MW.
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Frequently asked questions
The use of dams to create electricity, known as hydroelectricity, has a long history. The ancient Greeks and Egyptians used water wheels and screws for tasks like grinding wheat and irrigation. In the mid-1700s, French engineer Bernard Forest de Bélidor wrote "Architecture Hydraulique," which laid the groundwork for modern hydropower turbines. However, it was inventors like Thomas Edison, who helped commercialize electricity and create demand, and Nikola Tesla, who revolutionized AC power transmission, that truly unlocked the potential for hydroelectric power generation.
Hydroelectric power generation relies on water stored behind a dam, which is released through gates and large pipes called penstocks. The water flows from a higher elevation to a lower one, gaining pressure as it moves toward the generators in the powerhouse. The generating units consist of a turbine, a rotor, a shaft, and a stator, with the spinning rotor creating a magnetic field.
Hydroelectric power is a renewable and clean energy source that does not produce carbon dioxide emissions during power generation. It provides a flexible and demand-responsive energy supply while generating no direct waste. Hydroelectric dams can also help with flood control, irrigation, and water sports facilities.
The construction of large dams and reservoirs can have significant environmental impacts, including loss of arable land, population displacement, and disruption to natural river ecosystems. Dam failure can also lead to catastrophic consequences. Additionally, in tropical regions, reservoirs can emit higher levels of methane, a greenhouse gas.
Notable hydroelectric dams include the Hoover Dam, Grand Coulee Dam, Three Gorges Dam, and Itaipu Dam. The Hoover Dam, completed in 1936, was the world's largest hydroelectric power station at the time, producing 1,345 MW. The Grand Coulee Dam, completed in 1942, surpassed it with a capacity of 6,809 MW. The Three Gorges Dam in China, completed in 2008, is currently the largest, generating 22.5 GW.
