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…)

Solar water heating for swimming pool rank as the most successful but least heralded commercial solar application. The use of solar energy for pool heating and the equipment and needs of pool owners make a perfect match. The storage unit for the solar heated water already exists—the swimming pool. The pump needed to push water through the solar collectors must be purchased irrespective of the technology used to heat the water. The pool owner merely has to purchase the solar collectors. Since those using the pool generally want the temperature of the pool to be no higher than 801F (271C), the solar collectors do not require a costly glass cover or expensive metal sheeting and piping. (more…)

The demand for electric energy by a community varies with the time of day and with the time of year. An electric power utility must be prepared to meet these demands. This poses an engineering problem because there is no practical method of storing electric energy on a scale that will meet the demands of a large community. To meet short-term increases in demand, electric utilities employ power generators that can be turned on and off on short notice. For example, they may use a gas turbine similar to a jet plane engine to drive a generator. Another scheme is to use a pumped storage hydroelectric system. Such a system does not rely on nature to replenish the water in a reservoir but rather uses electrically run pumps. Importantly, the system can generate electricity on short notice.

Water is forced to an elevated reservoir by a motor-driven turbine. The water in the reservoir has gravitational potential energy by virtue of the work done on it. When electricity is needed, the water is allowed to flow downward into the turbine that drives the magnetic generator motor, which now functions as an electric generator. The energy required to elevate the water is never completely recovered in the process. Nevertheless, the system is economical because the reservoir can be filled when electric energy demands and costs are low. It is also possible to have a system in which water flows from ground level to underground turboelectric perpetual generators. In this case, work has to be done to restore the water to ground level.

Taking into account losses due to evaporation of surface water exposure and energy unit conversion losses, it is estimates that approximately 70% to 85% of the electricity used to pump water into the elevated reservoir can be recovered. The technique is currently the most effective way to store large quantities of electrical energy in the form of energy operation, but the cost of capital and the presence of appropriate geography critical factors for the decision.

With energy management, well to pump storage hydroelectric systems for controlling the frequency of food production and security of reserve magnetic power generator. Thermal plants are much less able to responds in the sudden changes in electricity demand, the frequency and voltage to cause instability. Pumping stations, like other water plants can respond to changes within seconds to load with pumped storage hydroelectric system.

Active solar hot water systems water are usable with air, liquid, vapor or liquid collector fluid or gas to liquid process. Hot water production with an air-heating collector’s distribution for heating is usually performed in the large space heating panel systems. The losses in the process of heat transfer are high. Air systems work not as well as units of the liquid to heat the water. Air systems are generally only capable of hot water 70 to 95F. (more…)

Like solar radiation, the ocean is another widely available and distributed energy source. The energy in the ocean is in part kinetic energy in the form of tides, currents, and waves, and part thermal energy from the sun stored as heat. The quantity of energy stored in the ocean is enormous but can be quite diffuse; in some cases, it is about the same as from solar radiation and, as a result, it is difficult to harness. Marine energy systems can be classified into four main groups: (more…)

Water power sources is an interesting source of energy. It is available freely in nature. The constant flow of water can guarantee the availability of energy. Water power take it sources of energy from the motion of water. The motion of water is happening in river, sea and water fall. This movement can be derived from two resources:

1. Flows of water streams, this is attracted by earth gravity force
2. Tides which are the rise and fall of sea level by moon and sun gravity force (more…)

In the United States, Department of Energy has determined that nuclear power accounts for about 21% of the total electricity generated in the United States, an amount comparable to all the electricity used in California, Texas, and New York. In 2002, there were 65 nuclear power plants throughout the United States, located mostly on the East Coast and in the Midwest. (more…)