HYDRO

THE POWER OF WATERPage 400-401 in the textbook

ELECTRIC

Hydropower has been in use since the late 1800’s

HistoryBUT

the origins of the technology reach back thousands of years.

ArchimedesAncient Greece

Imperial Rome

Han China

They used water to drive enormous grist stones to make flour.

1849: Invention of the Francis turbine.1882: The world’s first hydropower plant begins operations in Appleton, Wisconsin, on the Fox River.1887: The first hydroelectric plant opens in the West, in San Bernadino, California.1907: Hydropower accounts for 15 percent of U.S. electrical generation.1920: Hydropower accounts for 25 percent of U.S. electrical generation.1931: Construction begins on the Hoover Dam, ultimately employing a total of more than 20,000 workers during the Great Depression.1937: The Hoover Dam begins to generate power on the Colorado River.1941-1945: Bureau of Reclamation dams ramped up power output to support America’s efforts in World War II, producing enough electricity to make 69,000 airplanes and 5,000 ships and tanks during a five year period.1980: Conventional hydropower capacity is nearly triple compared with 1920 level.Today: A vast expansion of hydropower’s potential is possible through new technologies for conventional, pumped storage and marine and hydrokinetic projects, modernizing existing hydropower facilities and adding generation to existing non-powered dams.

History

How it works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpigNNTQix8

How it works.

Some people consider hydroelectric power an ultimate source of electrical generation because it’s nonpolluting, can be turned on and off

in short order, and uses water as its natural fuel.

Water Cycle

Primary Uses

Today, huge power generators are placed inside of dams, having the water flow through the dams spinning the

turbine blades, which are connected to generators that produce electricity. Water can be kept in reservoirs for

potential use.  

Primary Uses

The U.S. currently has over 2,000 hydroelectric power plants, which supply 49% of its renewable resources.  

Power is produced and is sent to homes and businesses.

In the U.S., hydropower is produced for an average of 0.85 cents per kilowatt-hour (kwh). This is about 50% the cost of nuclear,

40% the cost of fossil fuel, and 25% the cost of using natural gas.

Efficiency, Cost and Power

80-90 percent

According to the U.S Department of the InteriorBureau of Reclamation Power Resources Office, the efficiency of today’s

hydroelectric plant is about ____(?)____.

Reclamation’s 58 powerplants throughout the Western United States produce an average of 42 billion kWh (kilowatt-hours) per year, enough to meet the

residential needs of more than 14 million people.**

**42 billion kWh of electrical energy is equivalent to about 72 million barrels of oil

Pollution Output

Reservoirs also collect sediment, concentrating nutrients as well as pollutants. These sediments can build up, making the reservoirs shallower.

These reservoirs emit greenhouse gases, particularly methane, from the

decomposition of organic materials.

Renewable

vs

Non-renewable

Renewable vs. Non-renewableFossil fuels consumption is the major contributor to the increasing concentration of CO2 in

the atmosphere, which is a key cause for global warming. It has also lead to human health issues from its fumes. Also, ONCE IT’S GONE, IT’S GONE FOR GOOD.

Diverse renewable energy sources currently provide only about 8% of US needs and about 14% of the world’s needs; although the development and use of renewable

energy is expected to increase as fossil fuel supplies decline.

Hydropower contributes significantly to world energy. In the US, hydroelectric plants produce approximately 989 billion kWh (11% of nation’s electricity). Developments

and rehabilitation of existing dams in the US could produce an additional sixty billion kWh per year.

World uses (Depends on availability/ water access)

The Three Gorges project in China, the world’s largest reservoir project to date, is projected to deliver

a staggering 22.5 billion watts.

Built as a green alternative to coal-fired generators, the dam eliminates the discharge of about

100 million tons of CO2 per year.

In the long run, the role of Texas dams in controlling flooding and preventing property damage has proven

more economically important to the state than hydroelectric power.

In current usage, “hydropower” refers solely to electricity generated by water, most often through a dam. As of 2006, Texas has only 23 dams with

hydroelectric power plants out of hundreds of medium to large dams around the state. These 23 dams have a total generating capacity of 673

megawatts (MW), although the amount of electricity they actually produce annually is well below the maximum potential of generating 100 percent of

the time.

Hydropower in Texas, y’all

Hydroelectricity made its largest impact on Texas in the mid-1930s, as part of the rural electrification efforts of the New Deal.

Hydroelectricity brought jobs as well as electricity to the Hill

Country and other areas of the state.

Nevertheless, other sources of power soon dwarfed the contribution of dams. At the end of 1946, 15% Texas’ electricity came

from hydropower; its share fell to less than half of that within about seven years.

PROvs

CON

PROHydroelectricity…

1. is a renewable resource2. makes it feasible to utilize other renewable resources3. promotes guaranteed energy and price stability 4. contributes to the storage of drinking water and water for irrigation5. increases the stability and reliability of electricity systems6. helps fight climate change7. improves the air we breathe8. offers significant contributions to development9. means clean and cheap energy for today and for tomorrow

10. is a fundamental instrument for sustainable development

CONHydroelectricity…

1. has high investment costs2. is hydrology dependent (precipitation)3. can be an inundation of land and wildlife habitat4. can cause a loss or modification of fish habitat5. can cause fish entrainment or passage restriction6. can change reservoir and stream water quality7. can displace local populations8. can decrease flow of natural fertilizer (silt) to land below dam9. can cause high CO2 emissions from biomass decay in shallow tropical reservoirs

Prohibits:(1) federal funds from being used to implement a new program, project, activity, or action required by or proposed in a March 16, 2012, memorandum from Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy, to the Power Marketing Administrators, until a report justifying the implementation of such program, project, activity, or action is submitted to Congress;(2) federal funds from being used to remove, breach, or study the removal or breaching of any hydroelectric-producing dam unless explicitly authorized by Congress;(3) federal funds or funding from congressionally chartered organizations that provide grants impacting federal land and fish and wildlife from being used for mitigation activities related to hydroelectric-producing dam removal unless explicitly authorized by Congress; and(4) federal agencies or congressionally chartered organizations that provide grants impacting federal land and fish and wildlife from funding any nongovernmental organization that is or was involved in litigation that would negatively impact hydropower generation during the preceding 10 years

Seventy years ago, a two-dam complex known as the Cushman Project took effect. It promoted hydroelectric power as a major federal policy. Today it still produces 20% of

Tacoma,Washington’s power.

However, today the political world is against hydroelectric power. Federal policy is in “doubt” of the future of hydroelectricity. The economic worth of goods produced by the dams,

which include eleven electricity flood control, and water for irrigation, are being outweighed in the licensing process by environmental claims.

Purpose: to improve hydropower,and for other purposesPolitics.

H.R. 6247 (112th): Saving Our Dams and New Hydropower Development and Jobs Act of 2012H.R. 5892 (112th):Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency

Act of 2012

Status: Not enactedStatus: Passed by H.R but not by Senate

Because of increasing concern about the harmful environmental and social consequences of large dams, the World Bank and other development agencies have been pressured to stop funding

new large-scale hydropower projects.Micro-hydro generators may be the future to

reduce environmental impact.

Informative pamphlets to check out:

http://www.bpa.gov/news/pubs/GeneralPublications/edu-hydro-power.pdf

http://www.usbr.gov/power/edu/pamphlet.pdf

Bibliographyhttp://www.usbr.gov/power/edu/pamphlet.pdf

http://www.iliumenergy.com/hydroelectric-power-facts/http://water.usgs.gov/edu/wuhy.html

http://www.hydro.org/tech-and-policy/history-of-hydro/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpigNNTQix8

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2034945/Queen-Elizabeth-uses-green-hydroelecricity-power-Windsor-Castle.html

http://earth.rice.edu/mtpe/geo/geosphere/hot/energyfuture/hydroelectricity.htmlhttp://www.window.state.tx.us/specialrpt/energy/renewable/hydro.php#intexas

http://www.wvic.com/Content/Facts_About_Hydropower.cfmhttp://www.whyhydropower.com/HydroTour2b.htmlhttps://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/hr5892

Brenna Rich and Christine Kim