hydropower
Sign in to savethumb|upright=1.3|The Three Gorges Dam in China; the hydroelectric dam is the world's largest power station by [[installed capacity.]]
AI overview
Hydropower is electricity generated by flowing water, typically captured at large dams like China's Three Gorges Dam, which is the world's biggest power station by capacity. It matters because it provides a major source of renewable energy for electricity generation around the world.
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Article
21 sectionsContents
- Calculating the amount of available power
- Disadvantages and limitations
- Applications
- Mechanical power
- Watermills
- Rail transport
- Compressed air
- Electricity
- Rain power
- History
- Ancient history
- 19th century
- 20th century
- United States
- Africa
- Europe
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Sources
- External links
thumb|upright=1.3|The Three Gorges Dam in China; the hydroelectric dam is the world's largest power station by [[installed capacity.]]
Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a water source to produce power. Hydropower is a method of sustainable energy production. Hydropower is now used principally for hydroelectric power generation, and is also applied as one half of an energy storage system known as pumped-storage hydroelectricity.