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English: Hydroelectric dam. Water from the reservoir rushes through the penstock into the powerhouse. The water spins the turbine, which drives the generator. Inside the generator is a large electromagnet that spins within a coil of wire, producing electricity.
The water, held under high pressure to keep it from boiling, produces steam by transferring heat to a secondary source of water. The steam is used to generate electricity. Cooling water from the river condenses the steam back into water. The river water is either discharged directly back to the river or cooled in the towers and reused in the plant.
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The following page lists all pumped-storage hydroelectric power stations that are larger than 1,000 MW in installed generating capacity, which are currently operational or under construction. Those power stations that are smaller than 1,000 MW , and those that are decommissioned or only at a planning/proposal stage may be found in regional ...
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.
For example, a low-head hydro power plant with hydrostatic head of few meters to few tens of meters can be classified either as an SHP or an LHP. [30] The other distinction between SHP and LHP is the degree of the water flow regulation: a typical SHP primarily uses the natural water discharge with very little regulation in comparison to an LHP.
The other type is called a run-of-river plant. In this case, a barrage is built to control the flow of water, absent a reservoir. The run-of river power plant needs continuous water flow and therefore has less ability to provide power on demand. The kinetic energy of flowing water is the main source of energy. [13] Both designs have limitations.
The Bath County Pumped Storage Station is a pumped storage hydroelectric power plant with a maximum generation capacity of 3,003 MW, [3] an average of 2,772 MW, [4] and a total storage capacity of 24,000 MWh. [4]