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A Few Words About Hydro Power
While the phrase “hydro power” may seem completely foreign to some people, it really couldn’t have a simpler explanation. Basically hydro power means water power, and is harnessed from the force of moving water. This harnessed energy has many useful purposes, and was widely used before commercial electric power was readily available. Everything from the operation of sawmills, textile machines, watermills, domestic lifts, dock cranes, and of course, irrigation purposes, were powered using hydro power. Another method of hydro power was known as trompe, which produced compressed air from the falling water that could then be used to power machinery far away from the actual water source. As for hydropower that occurs naturally, think of rivers and streams that are in your area, particularly when there has been a lot of rainfall runoff back to the river; it easy to see how forcefully the water moves along, taking anything in its path with it. Hydropower can actually be extremely dangerous in natural situations and even in controlled situations if the proper precautions are not taken.
Hydro power is still used today, and has actually been regaining much of its old popularity now that the green movement has taken hold. While there are still some hydro powered items that are strictly used for mechanical purposes, the majority of them double as electric generators. This multitasking is a great representation of the green movement’s efforts to make the most of our natural resources and get the most out of them without depleting them or causing harm to the environment. We most often see hydroelectricity used in hydroelectric watermills and hydroelectric dams. Hydro power now generates around 19% of the entire world’s electricity. While that may not sound like a lot right now, it is steadily growing, and efforts to end the world’s dependence on commercial electric power are moving right along. Even now, there are several large dams that are still in the designing process. There are several countries that rely more on hydro power already, and have an abundance of it. However, the rest normally apply their available hydro power to only their peak load demand, because hydro power is easily started and stopped. Hydro power also provides a low cost, high capacity means of energy storage, which is known as pumped storage. One of the many benefits of hydro power is that is not a significant contributor to global warming, and it produces only trace amounts of harmful emissions and carbon dioxide, whereas other methods such as burning fossil fuels, which produces a great amount of toxic emissions.
While there is a downside to hydro power, in that there may be a question as to the environmental effects of reservoirs that could hinder the development of new hydropower sources, there are many more benefits to outweigh any cons. Including the fact that hydro power is much less expensive than the same amount of energy produced from nuclear plants or fossil fuels. In conclusion, it seems to only be a matter of time before hydro power tops the list of efficient and cheap energy resources.