History of Hydropower

The first recorded use of water power was a clock, built around 250 ВС.' bmce that time, humans have used falling water to provide power for grain and saw mills, as well as a host of other applications. The first use of mov­ing water to produce electricity was a waterwheel on the Fox river in Wis-°nsin in 1882, two years after Thomas Edison unveiled² the incandescent ignt bulb. The first of many hydroelectric power plants at Niagara Falls ^{Was c}°nipleted shortly thereafter. Hydropower continued to play a major

38

Section I. Power

role in the expansion of electrical service early in this century, both in North America and around the world. Contemporary hydroelectric power plants! generate anywhere from a few kW, enough for a single residence, to thou­sands of MW, power enough to supply a large city.

Early hydroelectric power plants were much more reliable and effi-J cient than the fossil fuel fired plants of the day. This resulted in a pro­liferation of small to medium sized hydroelectric generating stations! distributed wherever there was an adequate supply of moving water and a need for electricity. As electricity demand soared³ in the middle years] of the 20th century and the efficiency of coal and oil fueled power plants] increased, small hydroplants fell out of favour. Most new hydroelec­tric development was focused on huge "mega-projects".

The majority of these power plants involved large dams which flooded vast areas of land to provide water storage and therefore a constant supply of electricity. In recent years, the environmental impacts of suchl large hydro projects are being identified as a cause for concern. It is] becoming increasingly difficult for developers to build new dams be­cause of opposition from environmentalists and people living on the land to be flooded.

ijnit 5. Hydropower. Impacts 39

sign features mean that the flow conditions of the river will remain unaffected, there is a minimal effect on commercial traffic on the river and the attractiveness of the historic city centre is not compromised.

The new hydro scheme was built into an existing weir in such a way that the power house occupies a completely submerged cavern'. It is especially important that the hydro scheme does not affect the flooding characteristics of the river, as flooding has become more frequent over the last few decades.

Three bulb-type turbines, with a net head of 2.6 metres and a total flow rate of 140 cubic metres per second, provide an installed capacity of 3.1 MW. The design incorporates a number of innovative features and special components have had to be designed to suit a totally flood­ed operating environment.

City centres, and especially historic ones, are not generally consid­ered as obvious² candidates for the installation of power stations pro­ducing renewable energy. This project has demonstrated that such lo­cations can participate in efforts to increase the use of clean and efficient energy technologies.

1 - до нашей эры; 2 - открыл; 3 - стремительно повысился

1. What has the innovative project demonstrated?

2. What do special design features mean?

3. How was the new hydro scheme built?

4. What does the design incorporate?

5. What has this project demonstrated?