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Hydropower (from Ancient Greek ὑδρο-, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a water source to produce power. [1] Hydropower is a method of sustainable energy production.
small hydropower plants (SHP) and; large hydropower plants (LHP). The classification of a plant as an SHP or LHP is primarily based on its nameplate capacity, the threshold varies by the country, but in any case a plant with the capacity of 50 MW or more is considered an LHP. [28] As an example, for China, SHP power is below 25 MW, for India ...
The Hoover Dam in Arizona and Nevada was the first hydroelectric power station in the United States to have a capacity of at least 1,000 MW upon completion in 1936. Since then numerous other hydroelectric power stations have surpassed the 1,000 MW threshold, most often through the expansion of existing hydroelectric facilities.
The dam is 181 m (594 ft) high, 2,335 m (7,661 ft) long and 115 m (377 ft) in width. Power is generated by 32 turbines rated at 700 MW, and two turbines rated 50 MW, which are used to power the facility itself. Construction of this dam commenced in 1994, and was completed in 2012, nearly two decades after it started.
An example would be the 1995 1,436 MW La Grande-1 generating station. Previous upstream dams and reservoirs were part of the 1980s James Bay Project. There are also small and somewhat-mobile forms of a run-of-the-river power plants. One example is the so-called electricity buoy, a small floating hydroelectric power plant. Like most buoys, it is ...
Only plants with capacity larger than 3,000 MW are listed. The Three Gorges Dam in Hubei, China, has the world's largest instantaneous generating capacity (22,500 MW), with Baihetan Dam from the same nation in second place with a capacity of (16,000 MW). The Itaipu Dam in Paraguay/Brazil is the third largest with
An example of a small hydro power plant, Sveta Petka. A final noted advantage of small hydro over larger hydropower developments or fossil fuel plants is an element of environmental justice. In a number of communities which lack essential electricity access small hydro offers a reliable and clean source of electricity.
Dam building peaked in the 1960s and few dams were built in the 1970s. The growing awareness of environmental issues with dams saw the removal of some older and smaller dams and the installation of fish ladders at others. The enormous Rampart Dam was canceled in 1967 due to environmental and economic concerns. Instead of new dams, repowering ...