Hydroelectric power uses water to produce electricity through turbines and generators. It is considered green and requires little maintenance. Over 2,000 plants operate in the US, with China, Canada, and Brazil leading in use. More countries are building hydroelectric plants for their benefits.
There are different types of renewable energy sources, one of which is water. Hydroelectric plants, sometimes called hydroelectric plants, use water to produce nearly a quarter of the world’s total electricity needs. It takes very little to build a hydroelectric plant: running water, a dam, turbines and a generator. These components, when put together in the right order, harness water energy to create electricity.
A hydroelectric dam is built to hold water to create a reservoir from which to draw a constant flow. When the dam gates open, an intake valve draws water from this reservoir, and pressure or gravity moves this water through a turbine. The turbine is connected to a generator and as the turbine blades spin, the generator uses that energy to create an alternating current (AC). A transformer transforms current into high voltage energy which is then taken away for consumers to use. The water used to create the power is then returned through outflow pipes to a river below the dam.
Hydroelectric power is considered to be one of the greenest forms of energy. This is partly because after the construction of the hydroelectric plant there is no direct waste and there is a lower level of carbon dioxide emitted from plants compared to those that process fossil fuels, such as petroleum gas. Another advantage of hydroelectric power plants is that their operation requires relatively little maintenance, as they require no imports and maintenance is minimal. Furthermore, since the plants are generally fully automated, the personnel cost of a hydroelectric plant is also minimal. Most of the plants that produce hydroelectric power today were built about 50 to 100 years ago, which is considerably longer than plants that process fossil fuels. When a dam is built for other reasons, such as flood control, and a hydroelectric plant is added, this can create additional revenue for the region in which it is built.
Data on the number of hydroelectric plants is difficult to come by, since they can be operated on both a small and large scale, however it is estimated that there are just over 2,000 plants in the United States. China, Canada and Brazil use the most hydroelectricity and have many more facilities than the United States, however other countries including Russia, Norway, India and Japan also use hydroelectricity. As more people discover the benefits, both for consumers and the environment, more governments are pushing and creating hydroelectric plants around the world.
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