HYDROELECTRIC POWER

Untitled Slide

HOW IT WORKS AND IS USED

• Water is used to power engines to make electricity
• The water flows in from a dam, and the engines work together to create power.
• After the water creates electricity, it flows through power lines to get to locals.
• An example of where this power is made is Grand Coulee Dam
• The power created from the water goes through power lines to get electricity to places.

POSITIVES

• Hydropower's air emissions are safe because no fuels are burned during the process.
• Hydropower does not release solid waste
• Hydroelectric power plants release water back into rivers after it passes through turbines.
• The water from creating electricity is not polluted from the process.

NEGATIVES

• People, plants and animals are sometimes affected by the power plants because a dam may be built where they live.
• Dams for hydropower are extremely expensive to build and must be built to a high standard.
• The high cost of dam construction means that they need to be operating for years before a profit is made.
• When floods happen, the land gets ruined that is around the dam.

CURRENT USE

• Hydroelectric power plants
• The power from power plants powers cities and countries

FUN FACTS

• The first hydroelectric power plant was at Niagara Falls in 1879.
• In 2006, hydroelectricity supplied around 20% of the world’s electricity.
• The largest hydroelectric power station in the world is the Three Gorges Dam in China.
• Norway, Canada, Brazil, New Zealand, Paraguay, Venezuela and Switzerland, produce the majority of
• of their electricity through hydroelectric power.