Hydro-Power: How We Can Use Our Water Sources for Conveniences
Carleen Brandenburg
Have you ever thought of the
different ways that our electricity, fuel for vehicles, and many more things
are created? Some of the things that give us convenience and comfort are
created through non-renewable sources, for example fossil-fuels. However, there
are also renewable sources that help create conveniences and added comforts,
such as wind-power, solar energy, and even hydro-power. Hydro-power has been
around for a really long time, about as early as the ancient Greeks.
Hydro-power is a very good source of renewable energy that can help with the
conveniences in our daily lives that revolve around electricity.
There are many ways that we can use
water to help with the conveniences and comforts in life. For example,
hydro-power can help with providing for the electricity in our homes and the
work we go to. Generators can be powered by hydro-electricity and can be used
for our homes and various machinery. During the mid-1700s, a French hydraulic
and military engineer, Bernard Forest de Bélidor wrote a piece called Architecture Hydraulique, which
began the evolution of the modern hydro-power turbine. In 1880, at Grand
Rapids, Michigan, a brush arc light dynamo that was driven by a water turbine
provided theatre and storefront lighting. During 1881, in Niagara Falls, New
York, a brush dynamo connected to a turbine at a flour mill provided the street
lighting for that community. Today, only about 6-8% of the electricity in the USA comes from
hydro-power and supplies about 1/5 of the world’s energy per year (making it
the most commonly used renewable energy source, according to Energy 4 Me).
There are two different kinds of
hydro-power, which are hydro-electricity and hydro-kinetic. Hydro-kinetic
energy is similar but different from hydro-electricity. This is because with
hydro-kinetic energy, the power is generated from waves or other flows of
water, usually from rivers and oceans. Through hydro-electricity, the energy is
generated from gravitational force falling or flowing water.
If we
use hydro-kinetic energy, there is enough energy that could be captured from
the waves of the USA to power more than 67 million homes. Hydro-kinetic energy
is equal to displacing 22 power plants that are dirty coal-fired.
Hydro-electric power is about seven percent and produces a total of 19% of
electricity.
Hydro-power is created in a power
plant, but most projects for hydro-power use a dam and a reservoir to retain
the water from the source. According to Energy 4 Me, “when the dam gates are
opened, water flows through a pipe called a penstock and applies pressure to
turbines, making hem turn. Just like other kinds of power plants, the spinning
turbines power a generator to produce electricity (Energy4Me.org, n.d.)”. When
a hydro-power plant project doesn’t require a dam, the force that comes from
the river current that’s diverted to canals or pipes applies the pressure to
the blades of the turbine to produce electricity.
Even though there are various ways
to create the electricity, hydro-power is the best way to go. The ancient Greeks
would create water wheels and use the wheels to grind wheat into flour as well
as saw wood and power textile mills as
well as manufacturing plants. Since the ancient Greeks used a method of
hydro-power, we should be able to as well. This will be a good way for
civilization to create electricity without putting pollutants into the air.
References
Energy.gov. (n.d.). History of Hydropower.
Retrieved September 4, 2014, from
http://energy.gov/eere/water/history-hydropower
How Hydrokinetic Energy Works | UCSUSA. (n.d.). Union
of Concerned Scientists. Retrieved September 4, 2014, from
http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/our-energy-choices/renewable-energy/how-hydrokinetic-energy-works.html
Hydroelectric power water use. (n.d.). Hydroelectric
power and water. Basic information about hydroelectricity, USGS Water Science
for Schools.. Retrieved September 4, 2014, from
http://water.usgs.gov/edu/wuhy.html
Hydropower. (n.d.). Energy4me Hydropower Comments.
Retrieved September 4, 2014, from
http://www.energy4me.org/energy-facts/energy-sources/hydropower/
Hydropower. (n.d.). Energy4me Hydropower Comments.
Retrieved September 4, 2014, from
http://energy4me.org/energy-facts/energy-sources/hydropower/4/
APA formatting by BibMe.org.
