How is hydropower made

We supported the feasibility study for this project, which, once built, is forecast to be able to power approximately 3 million homes over a week. Our purpose is to support the global transition to net zero emissions by accelerating the pace of pre-commercial innovation, to the benefit of Australian consumers, businesses and workers.

By connecting investment, knowledge and people to deliver energy innovation, we are helping to build the foundation of a renewable energy ecosystem in Australia.

We have identified that PHES will play a significant role in helping Australia transition to renewable energy, and will continue to provide funding support and guidance to assist with development and financing.

Explore our PHES projects. Learn how we work with renewable energy technologies. Cheap, abundant and variable wind and solar is shaking up the electricity market, forcing traders to rethink how energy is bought and sold.

Massive open cut pits will be repurposed to hold water for energy storage at a mine in north Queensland. How is hydroelectricity produced? How does pumped hydro energy storage work? Near the bottom of the dam wall there is the water intake.

Gravity causes it to fall through the penstock inside the dam. At the end of the penstock there is a turbine propellor, which is turned by the moving water. The shaft from the turbine goes up into the generator, which produces the power. Power lines are connected to the generator that carry electricity to your home and mine.

The water continues past the propellor through the tailrace into the river past the dam. By the way, it is not a good idea to be playing in the water right below a dam when water is released!

As to how this generator works, the Corps of Engineers explains it this way: "A hydraulic turbine converts the energy of flowing water into mechanical energy. A hydroelectric generator converts this mechanical energy into electricity. The operation of a generator is based on the principles discovered by Faraday.

He found that when a magnet is moved past a conductor, it causes electricity to flow. In a large generator, electromagnets are made by circulating direct current through loops of wire wound around stacks of magnetic steel laminations.

These are called field poles, and are mounted on the perimeter of the rotor. The rotor is attached to the turbine shaft, and rotates at a fixed speed. When the rotor turns, it causes the field poles the electromagnets to move past the conductors mounted in the stator. This, in turn, causes electricity to flow and a voltage to develop at the generator output terminals.

Demand for electricity is not "flat" and constant. Demand goes up and down during the day, and overnight there is less need for electricity in homes, businesses, and other facilities. For example, here in Atlanta, Georgia at PM on a hot August weekend day, you can bet there is a huge demand for electricity to run millions of air conditioners! But, 12 hours later at AM Hydroelectric plants are more efficient at providing for peak power demands during short periods than are fossil-fuel and nuclear power plants, and one way of doing that is by using "pumped storage", which reuses the same water more than once.

Pumped storage is a method of keeping water in reserve for peak period power demands by pumping water that has already flowed through the turbines back up a storage pool above the power plant at a time when customer demand for energy is low, such as during the middle of the night. The water is then allowed to flow back through the turbine-generators at times when demand is high and a heavy load is placed on the system.

The reservoir acts much like a battery, storing power in the form of water when demands are low and producing maximum power during daily and seasonal peak periods. An advantage of pumped storage is that hydroelectric generating units are able to start up quickly and make rapid adjustments in output. They operate efficiently when used for one hour or several hours. Because pumped storage reservoirs are relatively small, construction costs are generally low compared with conventional hydropower facilities.

As the water flows down through the dam its kinetic energy is used to turn a turbine. Check out this video from the United States Department of Energy for more information on how hydroelectricity is generated:.

Curious about the energy terminology used in this piece? The U. Hydro: how hydro power is generated. Department of Energy: how hydropower works. Ontario Power Generation: hydroelectric power.