Hydropower is a powerful renewable energy source that produces billions of kilowatt hours of electricity globally each year. However, it does come with concerns over it’s impact on wildlife and fisheries. Although these concerns are real, hydropower is still one of the most viable renewable energy solutions to fossil-fuel use.

Hydropower usage goes back to the days of early Egyptians. They used it to grind grains and to keep saw blades cool when cutting wood. Over the centuries, the power of water has been harnessed by different societies throughout the world.

What Makes Water A Great Alternative Fuel Source

Water is constantly flowing from the brooks and streams originating in mountaintops. The power of gravity pulls the water downstream. These brooks and streams eventually meet in rivers that flow into valleys and lowlands.

In recent times, man has created dams to harness the power of water to generate electricity. The dams capture the water and force it to cascade over a waterfall. The force of the water turns turbines that generate energy. The energy is captured, converted to electricity and routed to power stations. It is then distributed through the power grid of towns and municipalities, where it is then used to power homes, factories, and businesses.

Hydroelectric Power

The world generates more than 3 billion kilowatt hours of hydroelectricity annually, powering more than 28 million homes worldwide. Asia leads the world in hydroelectricity generation, producing almost 25% of the world’s total. North America, Europe and Central/South America are right behind Asia, generating about 20% the world’s total output. Africa generates a little over 3%, Eurasia almost 9% and the Middle East, with their abundance of petroleum, less than 1%.

The largest hydroelectric plant in the world is the Grand Coulee Dam, located in the state of Washington, in the United States. This mammoth project took 11 years to complete and went into production in 1942. Since then, it has gone through many changes and improvements. It is over 5,000 feet long and 550 feet high and provides power for over 2 million homes.

China is currently in the final stages of building the biggest hydropower dam on the Yangtze River. Unfortunately, this massive project has displaced million of Chinese citizens and will flood important archaeological sites.

Hydropower From Ocean Waves

New hydropower techniques are being developed that include generating power by harnessing the energy in ocean waves.

“Wave Power” is defined as using the energy of ocean surface waves to generate electricity, power desalination stations, and pumping water into reservoirs. Generating hydropower from wave power is not widely used commercially, but the current economic times are revitalizing research and development of this possible alternative energy source.

Conclusion

The electricity produced by harnessing the energy of water can go a long way to reduce the world’s dependence on fossil-fuels. Hopefully, his will have a domino effect by reducing energy prices and reducing the effects of global warming caused by the use of petroleum based fuels.

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