Hydroelectric power

Content

• Types of hydroelectric plants
• Advantages of hydropower
• Disadvantages of hydropower
• Examples of hydropower
• Other types of energy

The hydroelectric power It is that generated by the action of the movement of the water, generally in falls (geodesic jumps) and slopes or specialized dams, where power plants are installed to take advantage of the mechanical energy of the moving liquid and activate the generator turbines that produce the electricity.

This method of using water provides a fifth of the world's electrical energy, and it is not exactly new in human history: the ancient Greeks, following the same and exact principle, ground wheat to make flour using the power of water or wind with a series of mills. However, the first hydroelectric plant as such was built in 1879 in the United States.

These types of power plants are popular in rugged geographies whose waters, product of the thaw at the top of the mountains or the interruption of the course of a mighty river, accumulate a considerable amount of force. Other times it is necessary to build a dam to control the release and storage of water and thus artificially propitiate a fall of the desired magnitudes.

The power of this type of plant It can range from large and powerful plants that generate tens of thousands of megawatts, to so-called mini-hydro plants that generate just a few megawatts.

More information in: Examples of Hydraulic Power

Types of hydroelectric plants

According to its architectural conception, it is usually distinguished between open air hydroelectric plants, such as those installed at the foot of a waterfall or a dam, and hydroelectric plants in cavern, those far from the water source but connected to it by pressure pipes and other types of tunnels.

These plants can also be classified according to the flow of water in each case, namely:

• Flowing water plants. They operate continuously, taking advantage of the water of a river or a fall, as they do not have the capacity to store water as in reservoirs.
• Reservoir plants. They retain the water through a dam and allow it to flow through the turbines, maintaining a constant and controllable flow. They are much more expensive than flowing water.
• Centrals with regulation. Installed in rivers, but with the capacity to store water.
• Pumping stations. They combine the generation of electricity by the flow of water with the ability to send the liquid back upwards, perpetuating the cycle and functioning as gigantic batteries.

Advantages of hydropower

Hydroelectric energy was very much in vogue during the second half of the 20th century, given its unquestionable virtues, which are:

• Cleaning. Compared to the burning of fossil fuels, it is a low polluting energy.
• Security. Compared to the potential disasters of nuclear power or other risky forms of electricity generation, its risks are manageable.
• Constancy. River water supplies and large falls are usually fairly constant throughout the year, ensuring the regular operation of the generating plant.
• Economy. By not requiring raw material, nor complicated processes, it is an inexpensive and simple electricity generation model, which lowers the costs of the entire energy production and consumption chain.
• Autonomy. As it does not require raw materials or supplies (beyond eventual spare parts), it is a model that is quite independent of market fluctuations and international treaties or political provisions.

Disadvantages of hydropower

• Local incidence. The construction of dams and dikes, as well as the installation of turbines and generators has an impact on the course of rivers that often affects the rivers. local ecosystems.
• Eventual risk. Although it is rare and avoidable with a good maintenance routine, it is possible that a break in a dike causes the uncontrolled release of a volume of water greater than manageable and that floods and catastrophes local.
• Landscape impact. Most of these facilities radically alter natural landscapes and have an impact on the local landscape, although they can also become tourist reference points.
• Deterioration of the channels. The continuous intervention on the flow of water erodes the river beds and alters the nature of the water, subtracting sediments. This all has a river impact to consider.
• Possible droughts. In cases of extreme drought, these generation models see their production limited, since the volume of water is less than ideal. This can mean energy cuts or rate increases, depending on the extent of the drought.

Examples of hydropower

1. Niagara Falls. The hydroelectric power station Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant Located in the United States, it was the first hydroelectric power station in history to be built, taking advantage of the power of the enormous Niagara Falls in Appleton, Wisconsin.
2. Krasnoyarsk hydroelectric dam. A 124 m high concrete dam located on the Yenisei River in Divnogorsk, Russia, built between 1956 and 1972 and providing around 6000 MW of power to the Russian people. The Krasnoyarkoye reservoir was created for its operation.
3. Salime Reservoir. This Spanish reservoir located in Asturias, on the Navia riverbed, was inaugurated in 1955 and provides the population with around 350 GWh per year. To build it, the river bed had to be changed forever and nearly two thousand farms flooded on 685 hectares of arable land, along with urban farms, bridges, cemeteries, chapels and churches.
4. Guavio hydroelectric plant. The second largest power plant in operation in Colombian territory, it is located in Cundinamarca, 120km from Bogotá and generates about 1,213 MW of electricity. It came into operation in 1992, despite the fact that three additional units have not yet been installed for financial reasons. If it does, the output of this reservoir would increase to 1,900 MW, the highest in the entire country.
5. Simón Bolívar hydroelectric plant. Also called Presa del Guri, it is located in the state of Bolívar, Venezuela, at the mouth of the Caroni River in the famous Orinoco River. It has an artificial reservoir called Embalse del Guri, with which electricity is supplied to a good part of the country and even sold to the border towns of northern Brazil. It was fully inaugurated in 1986 and is the fourth largest hydroelectric plant in the world, offering 10,235 MW of total installed capacity in 10 different units.
6. Xilodu Dam. Located on the Jinsha River in southern China, it has an installed capacity of 13,860 MW of electricity, in addition to allowing control of the flow of water to facilitate navigation and prevent flooding. It is currently the third largest hydroelectric power station in the world and also the fourth tallest dam on the planet.
7. Three Gorges Dam. Also located in China, on the Yangtze River in the center of its territory, it is the largest hydroelectric plant in the world, with a total power of 24,000 MW. It was completed in 2012, after flooding 19 cities and 22 towns (630 km² surface), with which almost 2 million people had to be evacuated and relocated. With its 2309 meter long and 185 high dam, this power plant alone provides 3% of the colossal energy consumption in this country.
8. Yacyretá-Apipé Dam. This dam located in a joint Argentine-Paraguayan area on the Paraná River, supplies almost 22% of Argentina's energy demand with its 3,100 MW of power. It was an extremely controversial construction, as it required the flooding of unique habitats in the region and the extinction of dozens of endemic species of animals and plants.
9. Palomino Hydroelectric Project. This project under construction in the Dominican Republic will be located on the Yaraque-Sur and Blanco rivers, where a reservoir with a total area of ​​22 hectares will be located and which will increase energy generation in that country by 15%.
10. Itaipu Dam. The second largest hydroelectric plant in the world, it is a binational project between Brazil and Paraguay to take advantage of their border on the Paraná River. The artificial length of the dam covers about 29,000 hm³ of water in an area of ​​approximately 14,000 km². Its generation capacity is 14,000 MW and it began production in 1984.

Other types of energy