Hydroelectric Turbine Efficiency

Hydroelectric Power -- what is it? A hydroelectric water turbine is a rotary engine that generates electricity and is powered by moving water. Therefore, this can be often seen as green energy. A hydroelectric water turbine was first engineered during the 19th century and was mainly used to create industrial power before power lines were invented. Surprisingly, technology for hydroelectric power hasn’t changed much in the first 10 years of its invention. Its concept was popular from 1930-1980 due to federal funding for construction of large dams and hydroelectric facilities. Today, hydroelectric power accounts for about 96 percent of the renewable energy in the United States. Oregon, for example, is home to some of the largest hydroelectric dams and a few of the longest rivers in the United States. The most tremendous dams in Oregon are the ones on the Klamath and Columbia River, which provide renewable energy to the state (Hunt, 1999).

Now that we know what hydroelectric turbines are, how do they work? When a fluid, most likely water, pushes on the front of the turbine blade, it causes a pressure drop on the back of the turbine, causing the turbine blades to spin. When these turbine blades spin, the Rotor, which is attached to an axle that attached to the blades, spins as well. The Rotor is made of a certain number of magnets facing North, South, North, South... in a clockwise fashion. Even though this might be obvious, the faster the turbine blades are spinning, the more energy is generated. In certain turbine generators, the Stator, which is usually composed of a number of interconnected coils, can spin on the axle with the turbine blades instead of the Rotor. Either way can create energy as long as either the Rotor or Stator ...

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... and started decreasing in efficiency.

Works Cited

Crawford, M. (2013). Waves currents & electric potential: Hydrokinetics seeks to bring gigawatts of untapped water power into the grid. (Master's thesis), Available from Gale. (A325174684).

Hunt, R. Oregon (1999). Foundation for Water and Energy Education. Following Nature's Current: Hydroelectric Power in the Northwest.

Jones, R. (2012, July 17). How water turbines work: Recover Energy from Water. Retrieved from website:http://www.howitworksdaily.com/technology/how-water-turbines-work/

Perlman, H. Unites States Department of Interior, (2013). Hydroelectric Power: How it works. Retrieved from website:http://sa.water.usg.gov/edu/hyworks.html.

United States Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration. Washington, (2005).Annual Energy Review, Facilities,Techniques, 2000. DOE/EIA-0384 (2000).