How is hydroelectric energy generated

Most conventional hydroelectric facilities operate this way, including run-of-the-river systems and pumped storage systems. Learn More. Hydropower News. Speakers will share highlights on each WPTO topic and sub-topic.

As we explained above, you need to know two things:. Now all we need to do is a little mathematics. Engineers have found that we can calculate the power of a dam using the following formula:.

To get an idea what kilowatts means, let's see how much electric energy we can make in a year. Since electric energy is normally measured in kilowatt-hours, we multiply the power from our dam by the number of hours in a year.

The average annual residential energy use in the U. So we can figure out how many people our dam could serve by dividing the annual energy production by 3, So our local irrigation or recreation dam could provide enough renewable energy to meet the residential needs of people if we added a turbine and generator.

Note: Before you decide to add hydropower to a dam, have a hydropower engineer review your calculations and consult with the local resource agencies to be sure you can obtain any permits that are required. Book Navigation. How Hydropower Works Hydropower plants capture the energy of falling water to generate electricity. The Three Gorges Dam is the world's largest power.

Tephra-laden water filtering through the turbines has necessitated the replacement of four turbines in 21 years. The Agoyan Dam and its orange floodgates are designed to let highly turbid water bypass the turbines so as to avoid accelerated wear of generation components. Skip to main content. Search Search. Water Science School. Hydroelectric Power: How it Works. Hydroelectric Power: How it works. Get water-use data.

Water Use Information by Topic Learn more. Falling water produces hydroelectric power. Credit: Tennessee Valley Authority. Diagram of a hydroelectric turbine and generator. Credit: U. Army Corps of Engineers. Pumped storage: Reusing water for peak electricity demand. Below are science topics related to hydroelectric power water use. Date published: August 30, Filter Total Items: 3. Year Select Year Over two thousand years ago, people in Greece used flowing water to turn the wheel of their mill to ground wheat into flour.

How Does Hydroelectric Energy Work? Most hydroelectric power plants have a reservoir of water, a gate or valve to control how much water flows out of the reservoir, and an outlet or place where the water ends up after flowing downward.

Water gains potential energy just before it spills over the top of a dam or flows down a hill. The potential energy is converted into kinetic energy as water flows downhill. There are three different types of hydroelectric energy plants, the most common being an impoundment facility. In an impoundment facility, a dam is used to control the flow of water stored in a pool or reservoir.

When more energy is needed, water is released from the dam. Once water is released, gravity takes over and the water flows downward through a turbine. As the blades of the turbine spin, they power a generator. Another type of hydroelectric energy plant is a diversion facility.

This type of plant is unique because it does not use a dam. Instead, it uses a series of canals to channel flowing river water toward the generator-powering turbines. The third type of plant is called a pumped-storage facility. This plant collects the energy produced from solar, wind, and nuclear power and stores it for future use.

The plant stores energy by pumping water uphill from a pool at a lower elevation to a reservoir located at a higher elevation.