
Up to around 1980, hydropower research and development (R&D) efforts focused mainly on improving turbine efficiency, reducing cavitations, and increasing generation. Whereas older units had efficiency ratings as low as 60%, the new units have efficiency ratings of approximately 90%. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) also looked at new technologies for developing low-head, ultra low-head, and small hydropower projects. These technologies included the following: (more…)
Hydropower, also known as hydroelectric power, is the use of water to produce power. Harnessing water to perform work has been ...
The World Commission on Dams (WCD) was formed in 1998 by a joint initiative of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the Worl ...
The winners in hydropower and other large dam projects are those who gain electricity, domestic water supplies, sanitation, dro ...
The water levels of most of the world’s rivers fluctuate with seasonal rains, melting snows, or droughts, and in the arid zones ...
Hydraulic turbines have two main classifications: impulse and reaction. The impulse turbine generally uses the velocity of the wate ...

Hydropower, also known as hydroelectric power, is the use of water to produce power. Harnessing water to perform work has been going on for thousands of years. The Greeks used waterwheels for grinding wheat into flour more than 2000 years ago. Besides grinding flour, the power of the water was used to saw wood and to power textile mills and manufacturing plants. This article looks briefly at how hydropower plant began, why it is considered renewable energy technology, the parts of a hydropower plant, types of turbines and when they are used, and what research and development is occurring. (more…)
Up to around 1980, hydropower research and development (R&D) efforts focused mainly on improving turbine efficiency, reducing c ...
The water levels of most of the world’s rivers fluctuate with seasonal rains, melting snows, or droughts, and in the arid zones ...
The World Commission on Dams (WCD) was formed in 1998 by a joint initiative of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the Worl ...
The winners in hydropower and other large dam projects are those who gain electricity, domestic water supplies, sanitation, dro ...
The demand for electric energy by a community varies with the time of day and with the time of year. An electric power utility ...
Addressing global warming, however, is a highly complex and daunting endeavor. Many climate experts have urged the world to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere around 450 to 550 parts per million (ppm)—that is, no more than 450 to 550 units of greenhouse gases for every million units of air in the earth’s atmosphere. This approach, experts say, could keep average global temperatures at no more than 3.6° Fahrenheit (2° Celsius) above preindustrial levels, which could avoid some of the worst, irreversible consequences of climate change. (more…)
Although some scientists and critics still dispute that human caused greenhouse gases are causing climate change, the majority of s ...
Climate change caused by the enhanced greenhouse effect is one of the most significant global environmental issues. Increased emiss ...
Options for dealing with the threats of climate change include both adaptation to inevitable changes and mitigation, or lessening, ...
Scientists study Earth’s climate not just from observation but also from a theoretical perspective. Modern-day climate models succe ...
Earth’s climate is a complex system of interacting natural components. These components include the atmosphere, the ocean, and the ...

The energy that people use every day comes from many different sources. The resources are divided into two main groups: renewable energy and nonrenewable energy. Renewable energy sources are those that can be used again and again. Renewable energy resources have unlimited supply. (more…)
In Europe, modern renewable energy sources technologies were explored thoroughly for the first time after the oil embargo/ price cr ...
During the US Presidential Election 2008 Campaign, the renewable portfolio standard was one of the main agendas for Presidentia ...
The broad range of home solar energy systems are mostly known as Photovoltaic Systems (PV) or Thin Film Solar Technology. The s ...
The hydrogen can come from various sources including fossil fuels, wind, solar, biomass, nuclear, solar thermo-chemical reactio ...
Renewable energy sources cannot run out and causes so little damage to the environment that its use does not need to be restric ...