How Does A Hydroelectric Power Plant Work

A pumped storage plant works much like a conventional hydroelectric station except the same water can be used over and over again.

How does a hydroelectric power plant work. A typical hydropower plant is a system with three parts. The three phases of power being produced simultaneously plus a neutral or ground common to all three. Duke energy operates two pumped storage plants jocassee and bad creek. The pumped storage plant uses two reservoirs with one at a much higher elevation than the other.

Hydroelectric plants are different. They tap into the kinetic energy of tidal flows for the purpose of electric power generation. Whereas a hydroelectric plant uses falling water to turn the turbine. To produce power water is released from the higher reservoir through a tunnel in the mountain to drive generators in an underground power plant.

Hydroplants range in size from micro hydros that power only a few homes to giant dams like hoover dam that provide electricity for millions of people. Several tidal energy designs can be used. Hydropower is using water to power machinery or make electricity. Itaipu dam hydroelectric power plant brazil paraguay 14 000 mw production capacity 3.

A coal fired power plant uses steam to turn the turbine blades. Power lines out of every power plant come four wires. Read how power distribution grids work to learn more about power line transmission outflow used water is carried through pipelines called tailraces and re enters the river downstream. The world s hydropower plants output a combined total of 675 000 megawatts the energy equivalent of 3 6 billion barrels of oil according to the national renewable energy laboratory there are more than 2 000 hydropower plants operating in the united states making.

Tidal power plants make use of the tides as a renewable energy source. Worldwide hydropower plants produce about 24 percent of the world s electricity and supply more than 1 billion people with power. Xiluodu dam hydroelectric power plant china 13 800 mw production capacity 4. The world s largest hydroelectric power plants.

They use modern turbine generators to produce electricity just as thermal coal natural gas nuclear power plants do except they do not produce heat to spin the turbines. The results are the same. How a pumped storage plant works. The photo on the right shows the alexander hydroelectric plant on the wisconsin river a medium sized plant that produces enough electricity to serve about 8 000 people.

Water power uses no fuel in the generation of electricity making for very low operating costs. How a hydropower plant works. Water constantly moves through a vast global cycle evaporating from lakes and oceans forming clouds precipitating as rain or snow then flowing back down to the ocean.