Essay On Hydropower

Hydropower is taking the energy out of water flowing from a higher elevation to a lower one and converting it into electricity. Hydropower has been used as source for electricity for many years and is the leading renewable energy resource in America today. Hydropower is the most dependable and effective of all renewable power sources. “And today, about seven percent of all electricity is generated from hydropower” (DOE.org) The Tennessee Valley Authority is the nation’s largest federal, public power company. TVA also has fossil fuel, nuclear, and hydropower plants. “TVA maintains 29 conventional hydroelectric dams throughout the Tennessee River System and one pumped-storage facility for the production of electricity.” (tva.gov) “Together these plants produced about 13.9 million megawatt hours of electricity in 2004, enough electricity to power nearly one million homes for a year.” (tvakids.com)

A hydropower plant consists of a dam and powerhouse. The dam holds the water in a reservoir, which is kind of like a small lake, and the powerhouse surrounds the turbines and generators that produce electricity. When power is needed, water is let out from the reservoir through a large pipe and into a turbine attached to a generator that spins, in turn, producing electricity. After going through the turbine, the water returns to the river on the downstream side of the dam. (Figure 1.1 shows a typical hydropower plant) (Wikipedia.com)

There are three types of hydropower plants: impoundment, diversion, and pumped storage. These plants range in size from small systems to larger systems. An impoundment hydropower plant is the most common type and uses a dam to store water from a river in a reservoir. Water is then released from the reservoir a...

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... to open up the Tennessee River to navigation when TVA opened in 1933, but the dams brought the extra benefit of low-cost power production. TVA’s hydro plants operate with a high degree of reliability and efficiency. 2 current projects will improve plant operations even more: The hydro modernization project, scheduled for completion around 2015, will drastically increase the hydro system’s power output. The automation project, which allows the plants to be controlled and monitored from a command center in Chattanooga, TN, will lower operating costs and increase effectiveness. These efforts continue to reduce costs, improve efficiency, and improve generating output.

In conclusion, hydropower is an effective and reliable reusable energy source. I believe that TVA has helped pave the way to show this to people all over the United States.