Waterpower
Water Power
The roar of a waterfall suggests the power of water. Rampaging floodwaters can uproot strong trees and twist railroad tracks.
When the power of water is harnessed, however, it can do useful work for man.
Since ancient times man has put to work the energy in the flow of water. He first made water work for him with the waterwheel a wheel with paddles around its rim. Flowing water rotated the waterwheel, which in turn ran machinery that was linked to it. Today, new kinds of waterwheels spin generators that produce electricity. Electricity from water-turned generators is called hydroelectric power.
Waterwheels Man's Way of Using Waterpower
Some evidence shows that the Egyptians used the energy in river currents to turn wheels as early as about 2500 BC. Roman engineers during the 1st century BC, however, are known to have built upright paddle wheels that turned with the current of a river. Called undershot wheels because they were turned by water striking their lower paddles, they raised water to troughs above the river. These Roman waterwheels used only the horizontal motion of water. They were not too efficient and at best could produce only about three horsepower.
During the Middle Ages the more efficient breast and overshot waterwheels were developed, largely for the grinding of grain at a mill. The breast wheel was turned by water brought to the wheel at axle level in a trough called a millrace. The water struck the blades at axle height and turned the wheel with its impact and its weight. Overshot wheels were also turned by the weight and speed of water. The millrace brought water to a high level, where it shot over the top blades of the wheel.
Turbines Complicated Waterwheels
The powerful hydraulic (water) turbine was developed in the mid-1800s. Turbines are enclosed waterwheels designed to take full advantage of the pressure and velocity of water (see Turbine). In 1849 James B. Francis, an American engineer, perfected the reaction turbine, also called the Francis turbine. Around the edge of this enclosed waterwheel, or runner, are blades called vanes. Water enters the enclosure and flows against the vanes. The vanes deflect the water, and the runner is spun by reaction. Hydroelectric plants often use Francis turbines with adjustable blades. The angle of such blades can be changed to increase a turbine's efficiency.
In 1890 L.A. Pelton designed the impulse turbine, also called the Pelton wheel. A high-pressure jet of water directed against "buckets" on the wheel's rim turns this turbine. About 1919, Forest Nagler developed another reaction turbine, called the propeller turbine. The propeller turbine is similar in principle to the Francis turbine, but the propeller has fewer blades than the Francis runner has vanes. Therefore there are larger spaces between blades, reducing the chance that the turbine will be damaged by debris in the water that passes through it.
How Waterpower Is Measured
The power produced by water depends upon the water's weight and head (height of fall). Each cubic foot of water (0.03 cubic meter) weighs 62.4 pounds (28.3 kilograms). For example, a column of water that is one foot square (0.3 meter square) and 10 feet (3 meters) high would contain 10 cubic feet (0.28 cubic meter) of water. It would press upon each square foot of turbine blade with a force of 624 (10 x 62.4) pounds (283 kilograms).
Engineers measure waterpower in terms of horsepower. One horsepower is the force it takes to raise 33,000 pounds (14,970 kilograms) one foot in one minute, or 550 pounds (250 kilograms) one foot in one second. The horsepower potential of a waterfall is found by multiplying its flow, measured in cubic feet per second, by its height, measured in feet. Then the product is multiplied by 0.113, which is 62.4 (the number of pounds in a cubic foot of water) divided by 550. For example, a 10-foot- (3-meter- ) high waterfall with a flow of 100 cubic feet per second would develop 100 x 10 x 0.113, or 113, horsepower.
The output of a hydroelectric plant is usually measured in kilowatts of electricity. One horsepower equals 0.746 kilowatt. Thus, a hydroelectric turbine that develops 65,000 horsepower has a capacity of 65,000 x 0.746, or 48,490, kilowatts of electricity.
Waterpower Compared with Fuels
Waterpower produces about 8 percent of the electricity used in the United States. It accounts, however, for only a fraction of the total energy used for mechanical power, heat, light, and refrigeration. Coal, petroleum, and natural gas supply most of the rest.
Among water's virtues as a source of power is the fact that it can be used again after it supplies energy, while other energy sources are destroyed when they are used. Hydroelectric installations also supply added benefits to a region. For example, a dam built to provide a head for water turbines usually creates a reservoir that can supply water for irrigation and drinking.
Potential sources of waterpower include the tides, waves, and currents of the ocean, as well as the differences in temperature between the surface and the bottom of the ocean. One potential site for hydroelectric plants that would make use of tidal power is Passamaquoddy Bay off New Brunswick and Maine.
Types of Waterpower
By building a dam across a river, the natural upstream water level is elevated and a difference in head is created that can be used to drive turbines and generate electricity. A large upstream reservoir may balance seasonal water flow; rain or melted snow can be stored in the reservoir during the wet season to provide electricity during dry seasons. Small "run-of-river" reservoirs or ponds are not large enough to provide seasonal balance. They can, however, provide extra power during daily peak hours.
Pumped hydro storage.
The mechanism of pumped storage can be compared to a giant storage battery in which mechanical rather than electric power is stored intermittently. During the off-peak hours excess electricity produced by nuclear or coal- or oil-fired plants is used to pump water from a lower- to a higher-level reservoir for storage. During peak hours the water is allowed to flow down between the reservoirs through turbines in order to generate electricity. The hydraulic units are designed to operate as pumps when rotating in one direction and as turbines when rotating in the opposite direction. Similarly, motors that drive the pumps can be reversed to act as generators.
The United States has 34 pumped-storage plants in operation, representing over 14,000 megawatts of peak power capacity (1 megawatt = 1,000 kilowatts). The world's largest unit, in Bath County, Virginia, has a capacity of 2,100 megawatts. Even larger units are under construction in various places, with planned capacities of 3,600 megawatts or more.
Tidal power.
At any location the surface of the ocean oscillates between high and low points, called tides, about every 12 1/2 hours. In certain large bays, this tidal action can be greatly amplified. It can also create waves that move at speeds of up to 60 feet (18 meters) per second.
Ideally both the kinetic energy and the potential energy of these tides can be harnessed. Tidal water mills that exploited the kinetic energy of the tides were used by early settlers in New York and Massachusetts for grinding spice. However, recent attention has focused primarily on their potential energy.
In order to tap the potential energy of tides, a barrage with a gate is built across the mouth of an estuary. As the tide rises, water flows in through the open gate; when the tide begins to recede, the gate is closed. The trapped water is then channeled through a turbine. Normally such plants can generate electricity for about five hours, with seven hours of standstill and refilling. A two-way system that extracts energy from the tide as it flows both in and out of the barrage may also be used.
Thus far tidal power plants have not been economically feasible as a primary electricity source because of their intermittent power generation and their high construction costs. Tidal power may be more useful, however, for intermittent peak power generation. In this case, as in pumped-storage systems, the same machines alternate as pumps and turbines, but the head gained from the tide is used to reduce pumping power during high tide and to increase turbine output during low tide. At present there are two tidal plants in operation. The Rance River plant near St-Malo, France, generates power from tidal waves that vary in height from 11 to 44 feet (3 to 13 meters); it has 24 pump-turbines and motor-generators of 10-megawatt capacity each. The Kislaya Guba station on the Barents Sea in Russia has a total capacity of 400 kilowatts.
Wave energy.
The forward motion of a wave represents its kinetic energy, and many devices have been proposed for the capture of this energy. The vertical distance between the crest and valley of a wave represents the wave's potential energy. A simple device for exploiting this potential energy consists of an air-filled floating tank, open at the bottom and attached at the top to an air-driven turbine. As the air in the tank is compressed by a wave, the air is forced through the turbine, producing power. As the wave falls, the pressure within the tank drops, the turbine valve closes and air is then readmitted into the tank through another valve. In spite of the large amount of energy available in waves, no device has yet proved to be economically feasible.
World waterpower.
Waterpower is distributed unevenly among the continents and nations of the world. The total exploitable waterpower of the world has been estimated at 2,789,000 megawatts. Asia, South America, and Africa have the greatest waterpower potential about 62 percent but only about 23 percent has been developed so far.
On the other hand, Europe and North America have developed much of their waterpower. Canada is one of the greatest producers of waterpower; it has a total capacity of about 56,000 megawatts. The United States has only 16 percent of the world's potential waterpower but has developed nearly 19 percent of that about 68,700 megawatts.
Leaders in Generated Waterpower (1980-1990)
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Potential Actual Percentage
Generation Generation Actually
Country (Gwh)* (Gwh)* Generated
Australia 41,600 9,300 22
Austria 55,700 31,600 57
Bolivia 90,000 1,100 1
Brazil 1,194,900 172,100 14
Cameroon 100,000 1,500 2
China 1,900,000 90,000 5
Costa Rica 37,000 2,900 8
Denmark 70 30 43
Ethiopia 70,000 1,100 2
Finland 20,000 12,300 62
France 72,000 68,200 95
Gabon 32,500 420 1
Hungary 4,500 200 4
Iceland 31,000 3,800 12
India 600,100 52,500 9
Indonesia 709,000 9,500 1
Iran 5,550 5,500 99
Ireland 1,200 580 48
Italy 63,000 41,000 65
Jamaica 460 80 17
Japan 134,200 87,100 65
Kenya 30,000 2,000 7
Lebanon 1,000 570 57
Luxembourg 120 100 83
New Zealand 370 60 16
Norway 172,000 102,000 59
Pakistan 178,900 13,800 8
Spain 69,900 33,200 48
Sudan 1,900 800 42
Sweden 99,000 71,500 72
Switzerland 41,000 32,600 80
United States 376,000 303,470 81
Venezuela 330,000 31,400 10
Zaire 530,000 4,000 0.8
Zambia 30,900 10,000 32
Zimbabwe 17,500 3,300 19
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Waterpower in the United States
The Pilgrims harnessed waterpower as early as 1628 to grind corn. By the 1800s, however, steam had replaced water as the leading power source.
In the late 1800s, new demands for waterpower arose as a result of the development of electric power (see Electric Power). In 1882 the first American hydro-electric plant was built in Appleton, Wis. It generated 12.5 kilowatts, and provided the energy to light two paper mills and a house.
Since 1900 the use of hydropower has steadily increased. The Columbia River drainage area, which is the site of the Grand Coulee, Bonneville, and Hungry Horse dams, has both the greatest potential and the greatest developed waterpower. California ranks second in the nation in potential waterpower, while the Ohio River basin is second in developed waterpower. Significant additional waterpower potential still exists in the Missouri and Ohio River basins and in the North and South Atlantic portions of the United States. The largest hydroelectric power plant in the United States is the Grand Coulee, which has a capacity of 7,600 megawatts.
Since 1930 most dams have been erected through federal or local agencies; however, private utility companies also have major plants on the Columbia River, on the Susquehanna in Maryland and Pennsylvania, on the Connecticut River in New England, and on the Saluda River in South Carolina.
Federal regulation of waterpower production was initiated in 1920 with the establishment of the Federal Power Commission. The commission was reorganized in 1977 into the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and made part of the United States Department of Energy. FERC regulates all non-federal projects built on federal lands or on navigable streams. Before FERC will grant a new license the petitioner must file a formal environment impact statement. The statement must outline the intended project's beneficial and potentially harmful effects (accompanied by a proposal of remedial actions).
Waterpower development by federal agencies is the responsibility of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, or the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Except for TVA projects, federal waterpower developments are funded by selling electricity produced at federal dams that were originally built primarily for flood control.
In 1978, partly in order to encourage the production of electricity from renewable resources such as water and wind, the United States Congress passed the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA). The law required, in part, that utility companies buy electricity from small power producers, such as privately owned hydroelectric plants, at a price equal to what it would have cost them to generate the power themselves a price termed the avoided cost rate. FERC estimated that, by 1995, the act would have stimulated the building of projects totaling 12,000 megawatts in capacity. (See also Windpower)
Contributed by Gabor Karadi
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