Renewable Hydro Energy

Hydropower is electric energy derived from the force or energy from moving water. Before the development of electricity, hydropower was used for irrigation and operating of machines such as watermills, dock cranes and domestic lifts. Currently, approximately 20% of the world’s electricity is generated by hydropower. Hydropower also made up of the main bulk of world’s renewable energy production.

Hydropower can be obtained by using hydroelectric dam facility built in rivers. Dam works by impeding and limiting the flow of river water, causing reservoir of water to be formed in the upstream area of the dam. The water will then be allowed to flow through water turbine, which drives the generator to produce electricity. The advantages of using dam include the low operating cost due to automation, as well as the long operating life of a dam. Other than the construction stage, dam produces zero greenhouse gases during its operation, resulting in a green and renewable source of energy.

The largest hydropower dam facility in terms of annual generating capacity is the Itaipu dam located on the Parana River. It is able to supply 90% of the total electrical need of Paraguay and 19% of Brazil’s in 2008.

Another source of hydropower would be the ocean, which is also referred as marine power. Water during ocean waves and tides carries vast amount of kinetic energy which can be harnessed by tidal turbines. Energy that is harnessed this way produces no greenhouse gases, apart from during the construction stage of the plant. The potential amount of energy that could be harnessed this way far exceeds those from dam. Coupled with the fact that tidal behavior of ocean is predictable, it is more reliable compared to wind and solar energy.