Hydropower is one of the cleanest forms of energy that we have in the world today. It is energy that has been harnessed for centuries through the use of paddlewheels, but today we use gravity and force to generate electricity. Even the Greeks were using the power of water to spin turbines that could help them with certain tasks, like grinding grain. Here are some fun facts about one of our major sources of energy.
1. Dam… That’s a Good Place
When most people think about hydropower, they imagine the largest dam that they’ve ever seen, either in person or in real life. That generally means Hoover Dam or the Aswan High Dam, but there are some other large dams around the world as well. Any place where water is flowing, however, can be a source of energy production. Dams don’t have to be large to harness the power of a river. Even something as simple as water flowing through an irrigation ditch can generate power. Power can even be generated by routing a river through a power facility without the need of a dam.
2. It’s a Cheesehead State of Mind
The first commercial hydropower facility was built in 1882 in Appleton, Wisconsin. The community had a need to power a paper mill and there was enough leftover power that several homes could receive electricity as well. It was Niagara Falls, however, that saw the very first hydropower facilities in the United States. A man named Charles Bush connected a generator to some turbines that were powered by the falls and this gave night time visitors to the natural landmark the chance to see it more clearly.
3. Americans Love Hydropower
All 50 states in the US use some form of hydropower to meet their electrical needs. There are a few states that use more of it than others, however, and some use a lot more. The state of Washington, for example, gets two-thirds of their electricity from hydropower. This makes it a large national industry. Not only can it generate a capacity of 100 gigawatts, but it employs up to 300,000 Americans at any given time. This means that falling water generates more than electricity. It also generates money from which we all benefit.
4. It’s a Cheap Date
Hydropower is one of the cheapest forms of energy production that is currently available in the world today. For communities that rely primarily on this form of power, their utility bills are generally much lower than the national average. Washington, Oregon, and Idaho all have a large reliance on this form of power and the households in these states generally pay a lot less for their electrical needs than the rest of the country because of it. There can be high initial costs to build the framework to gather this energy, but that’s the only real financial issue with hydropower.
5. Like a Gymnast
What is unique about hydropower is that the power generation capabilities of this technology are extremely flexible. Some power plants that use hydropower can instantly go from 1% capacity to 100% capacity. This allows communities to generate the right level of power that is needed to meet their needs because the power can be put into the power grid almost immediately. Many regions utilize hydropower as a backup source of energy so that power needs can be quickly met should there be a failure on the primary grid.
6. Pump Up That Storage
Some hydropower plants utilize a concept that is known as pumped storage. You know how you can charge up the battery on an iPhone while it is turned off and it will retain most of its charge over the course of the next couple of days until you turn it on again? This is the concept behind pumped storage. The electricity that the hydropower generates is stored with other excess energy so that it can be used at a later time. This reservoir of energy helps to supplement power demands as needed and does so almost instantly.
7. A Limited Environmental Impact
The one knock against dams and other forms of hydropower is that they can change the local habitat in profound ways. When the Aswan High Dam was built, some people had to be relocated over 40 kilometers away from their home because of the reservoir that would build behind the dam. Thanks to the inclusion of fish ladders and elevators, as well as a careful monitoring of the reservoir behind the dam, these impacts are very limited. Many reservoirs from a dam also become popular recreational spots, so there is some good that comes along with the limited bad stuff.
8. It’s Our #1 Renewable Resource
From a US perspective, about 7% of the energy that is currently used today comes from hydropower. Those rates are generally reflective of what occurs around the world as well on average, although some nations like Egypt get close to half of their power from this water resource. This means that hydropower makes up a majority of the renewable resource power that we’re able to generate on the planet today.
9. A Lot of Wasted Power
What many people don’t realize is that the vast majority of dams don’t have any power generating capabilities to them whatsoever. Many are used to help irrigate fields, control floods, or manage navigation and shipping channels more effectively. In the United States, there are over 80,000 dams that are operational, but only 3% of them are generating power at any given time. US government studies have shown that power levels could be expanded by at least 10% by incorporating all dams with power generation capabilities.
Once a hydropower facility has been built, its negative impact on the environment is negligible. It harnesses the power of water just like our ancestors have done so that we can have our lifestyle needs met. Encourage the development of this highly affordable resource today and you will help the planet take one more step toward a greater independence from fossil fuels.
