Hydropower

Hydropower

Hydropower is the energy we make with moving water.

Hydro means water.

The Water Cycle• First, the sun heats the

water in the oceans, turning it into water vapor, a gas.

• This is called evaporation.

• Next, the water vapor rises.

• It turns into clouds when it reaches the cold air above the earth.

The Water Cycle

• The clouds then release the water as precipitation – rain or snow.

• The cycle then starts again!

The Water Cycle

The Water Cycle

People can use Hydropower

• Water wheels can use the energy in moving water.

• A water wheel has buckets around a big wheel.

• The bucket fills with water at the top of the wheel.

• The weight of the water turns the wheel and dumps the water at the bottom.

Water Wheels

• Early settlers used water

wheels to grind grain and run

sawmills.

• Factories used water wheels to

run their machines.

• In many countries today, water

wheels are still used!

Water Can Make Electricity

Moving water can be used to make electricity.

Water Can Make Electricity

• First, a dam is built across a river.

• This stops the water a makes a big lake behind the dam.

• This lake is called a reservoir.

• When the gates of the dam are opened, the water rushes out.

• Gravity pulls the water and makes it move.

Water Can Make Electricity

• The water flows down big tubes called penstocks and turns giant wheels, called turbines.

• The spinning turbines make electricity.

Hydropower

Plant• The first Hydropower

Plant was built at Niagara Falls in 1879.

• Today, there are about 2,000 dams in the United States that make electricity.

There are many benefits to using hydropower!

Benefits of Hydropower.

Hydropower is Renewable.

We won’t run out of water!

It is the cheapest source of electricity, because water is free to use!

Hydropower is a clean source of energy!

No fuel is burned, so the air is not polluted!

Hydropower is Clean.

Reservoirs provide lakes for boating, swimming, and

fishing!

Unfortunately, it’s not all good…

There are consequences for using hydropower!

When dams are built the reservoirs flood a lot of land.

Hydropower causes flooding.

Hydropower changes the environment.

• Damming rivers may disturb or damage the wildlife and natural resources.

• The dams change the flow of rivers.

• Sometimes, fish in the rivers can’t swim and lay their eggs like they could before.

Discussion Questions

• What are some of the possible long-term consequences of using hydropower?

• What areas of the United States are best suited to using hydropower? Is Texas one of those areas?