Hydro Power – More Than Just Hydroelectric Power

Hydro-power has been used for a variety of functions over the years. It was used in flour mills, where water-wheels turn a shaft, that ground the flour, and even in irrigation system thousands of years ago. These days, it has a more prominent role as a renewable source of energy.

Electricity from hydro-power can be generated in three different ways: in hydroelectric dams, using the tides, and through the ocean's waves and currents.

Hydroelectric dams:

This is the most common form of hydro-power, making up the majority of all renewable energy produced. Electricity is produced in hydroelectric dams where the force of falling water drives massive turbines.

What makes hydro-electric dams so popular is that they have two very important roles - to store and distribute water to various cities, and generate thousands of megawatts of electricity at the same time.

The disadvantage is the devastating effect dams can have on plants, animals and even humans. When dams are built they flood large tracts of land that were once occupied by various species and communities of people. Furthermore, the water-borne animals, such as fish can also be affected. An example would be salmon that are blocked from swimming upstream to spawn by the newly erected dam.

Tidal Power:

With tidal energy, hydro-power is generated as the tides comes in and goes out.

This has been achieved by France and Russia since 1966 in areas with a large tidal range, such as bays and estuaries. One of the systems of tidal power works by trapping water at high tide with a tidal barrage, then releasing that water in one quick burst at low tide. This gushing water drives turbines to produce power.

The only drawback with using such a system is that it only operates as the tide turns, which is every 6 hours.

Another, more modern tidal energy system works where large turbines (that look like wind turbine) are sunk in the shallows, and are spun by the shifting tidal currents.

Since this system is an underwater version of a wind turbine, the technology is up to date and refined. Also, water has a high density than air, so the turbines can spin in the lightest of currents.

The drawback is that the current systems can only be built in shallow water, where tidal activity is greatest. This is very limiting since many other economic activities - like oyster farming - occur in the shallows. Furthermore, these structures can damage marine life on the seafloor.

Power from the oceans waves:

This is the youngest of the three hydro-power solutions. The system harnesses the power from ocean surface wave motion, where air displaced by waves is driven through a generator than spins a turbine. The end result is electricity. These generators can either be coupled to floating devices outta sea, or fixed along the shore where seas are rough.

Although this technology is relatively new, it has been estimated that there is enough energy in ocean waves to produce up to 2000 Megawatts of power.

However, wave power systems do have environmental concerns. Their hydraulic fluids could leak out into the ocean, causing water pollution. And the fixed structures on the coastline, can damage the natural plant and animal life on the seafloor.

Conclusion:

Over the years we have come up with advanced methods of using water to produce power. Though there are a variety of benefits to using this kind of renewable energy, there are still a number of social and environmental concerns.