Hydropower

People have learned to use water energy to rotate the impeller mills, lathes, sewing machines long time ago. Nevertheless, gradually, the share of hydropower in total energy used by man has decreased due to the limited capability to transmit the power of water over long distances. With the advent of the electric turbine driven by water, the new perspectives were opened. Since the first hydropower plant was opened, the usage of hydropower has become more and more widespread (Cleveland 150). The use of water for producing electricity showed the possibility of using water resources located far from the industrial centers. Since then, the number of hydroelectric plants increases all the time and the prospects for such a type of power use are very promising.

Water as the Power Source

Water as an energy resource has fundamental advantages as compared to coal or other fossil fuel. It is not necessary to extract, process, and transport it, and its use does not cause harmful emissions into the atmosphere or any kind of waste. In some cases, hydropower dams allow regulating the river flow, and they are reliable, easy to operate as compared to thermal power plants and nuclear power plants. Moreover, they are rather cheap to build and maintain. Water reservoirs can be used in agriculture for irrigation; they can be used for fish breeding. In case of the threat of flooding, hydroelectric power plants allow protecting the population against floods via runoff level of regulation. In short, the advantages of hydropower are serious enough to make a decision about their construction. The undeniable advantage of water resources is their constant and rapid renewability. Water reserves are practically inexhaustible. Finally, the cost of construction of hydroelectric power plants is relatively low, and the cost of electricity produced by hydroelectric power stations is about two times lower than in thermal power plants (Cleveland 150-156).

Unfortunately, as every type of power, hydropower also has a set of drawbacks. For instance, in the areas adjacent to the water reservoirs, groundwater levels may lead to minor flooding of the soil. Additionally, in the flat areas, there is a blockage of fertile soil. The fault of unscrupulous managers of power plants that try to save money on dams and fish lifts installed on them may be the cause of extinction of some species of fishponds (Cleveland 154-155).

Due to the increase of humidity of the reservoir area, the environmental conditions and the conditions of animals and fish habitats change. Many animals from the flood zone have to migrate to other areas. In this case, the number and species composition of the animals can be significantly reduced. The destruction of the dam itself may also lead to catastrophic consequences. It leads to the extreme floods, the destruction, and continuous restoration of the affected areas (Zarfl et al. 162).

History of Progress

Today, it is difficult to image that the initial usage of water as the power source was as primitive as using its mechanical power to move different mechanisms. Afterwards, the variety of tasks, which were subjected to the water mill, was difficult to count. With the help of water, people manufactured paper and forged iron, sawed logs, and brewed beer. For example, in England and France, one water mill accounted for every 250 inhabitants (Cleveland 150). The founder of monasticism Benedict of Nursia even ordered each monastery to have a watermill (Cleveland 157).

The next step in hydraulic engineering was the invention of a water turbine. French engineer Benoit Furneron first introduced it in 1834 (Zarfl et al. 161). Three years later, independently of him, Ignatius Safonov constructed the turbine. It was installed on the Lower Alapaevsk plant and it developed twice as much power than the previously used waterwheel. Almost 30 years later, in 1878, Englishman William Armstrong designed the first hydroelectric power scheme (Zarfl et al. 161). Later, one of the first hydroelectric power stations in the world became the HPP by Jacob Shoelkoppfa at Niagara Falls. In 1882, the businessman attached a wheel to the water powering 16 light bulbs (Zarfl et al. 161). Seven years later, in the United States, there were already more than 200 hydroelectric power plants (Cleveland 163).

Since the 1930s, hydropower boom began in the world, and large hydropower plants began to appear one after another. In 1936, the Hoover Dam was completed with 2078 MW capacity, and six years later, it broke the record for Grand Coulee HPP (6809 MW) in the United States, which today ranks among the most powerful ones in the world (Department of Energy and Renewable Energy). The progress of the water usage is significant from common hydro stations to tidal wave stations. However, all of them produce power following the similar scheme – the water flows move the turbine for it to produce electricity (Cleveland 160-163).