Hydropower

Hydropower or hydroelectric power is a renewable and reliable energy source that serves national environmental and energy policy objectives. Twenty percent of all electricity in the world is produced by hydropower. The United States is the second largest producer of hydropower; Canada is the largest.

Hydropower is created from the kinetic energy of falling water. The energy is then converted into electricity via turbine (which can be as large as 800 megawatts). Of the more than 70,000 existing significant dams in the United States, 2,400 are being utilized for hydropower.

Hydropower is an emissions-free, renewable and reliable energy source. Hydropower's fuel-water is essentially infinite and is not depleted in the production of energy. As a source of energy, hydropower excels at preserving the stability and reliability of the electrical grid due to its unique operating characteristics.

Links

Department of Energy's Hydropower Program

National Hydropower Association is a non-profit national association dedicated exclusively to advancing the interests of the U.S. hydropower industry

New technologies convert the motion of waves into watts in the article Oceans of Electricity