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Hydropower originated with the millhouse paddlewheel. Converting flowing water into usable energy is the principle behind generating electricity for commercial use today. Industrial use of hydropower to generate electricity in the U.S. first occurred in 1880. Factory brush-arc lamps were powered using a water turbine. Coal was the only fuel used to produce electricity until the first (U.S.) hydroelectric power plant was opened near Appleton, Wisconsin in 1882. And not until technology became available to transmit electricity over long distances was hydropower widely used.

Some consider hydropower the ideal renewable fuel for generating electricity, because it’s a consistent source that does not expend waste products, is nearly free, and does not pollute the water or air. As a result, hydropower is the largest source of renewable energy, providing as much as 10% of the U.S.’ electricity. There are approximately 2,000 hydropower plants in the U.S. generating 77,000 Megawatts of hydropower. That’s enough to power 35 million homes.

The drawback to hydropower, however, is the impact it has on natural habitats. Most hydropower plant water comes from rivers, and is then released through turbines to produce energy. Dams are typically constructed at intervals along the rivers to control power plant water sources. Therefore, although hydropower energy does not pollute, it can ultimately harm fish and wildlife, displace people and communities, and alter water quality.

Technology is being developed to reduce the environmental impacts, but so far, it is very costly and it takes a long time to build and implement. In the Columbia River, for example, salmon must swim upstream to spawn and reproduce. But series of dams impede their natural upstream migration. Engineers and environmentalists work together to find compromising solutions. Fish ladders have been a common and successful approach to resolving the migratory issue without affecting hydropower efficiency. “Fish ladders help the salmon step up the dam to their spawning grounds upstream.”



Jason Grace
on behalf of the
BascoTec Internet Limited
Technologie Park 13
33100 Paderborn
Germany

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