home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
The Epic Interactive Encyclopedia 1998
/
Epic Interactive Encyclopedia, The - 1998 Edition (1998)(Epic Marketing).iso
/
H
/
Hydroelectric_power
/
INFOTEXT
< prev
Wrap
Text File
|
1992-09-02
|
679b
|
17 lines
Electricity generated by moving water. In a
typical hydroelectric power (HEP) scheme,
water stored in a reservoir, often created by
damming a river, is piped into water
turbines, coupled to electricity generators.
In pumped storage plants, water flowing
through the turbines is recycled. A tidal
power station exploits the rise and fall of
the tides. About one-fifth of the world's
electricity comes from hydroelectric power.
HEP plants have prodigious generating
capacities. The Grand Coulee plant in
Washington State, USA, has a power output of
some 10,000 megawatts. The Itaipu power
station on the Parana river (Brazil/Paraguay)
has a potential capacity of 12,000 megawatts.