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Hydroelectric - Did You Know
- Of the renewable energy sources that generate electricity, hydropower is the most often used.
- Hydropower is one of the oldest sources of energy; it was used thousands of years ago to turn a paddle wheel for purposes such as grinding grain.
- The first industrial use of hydropower to generate electricity in the U.S. occurred in 1880, when lamps were powered using a water turbine at the Wolverine Chair Factory in Grand Rapids, Mich.
- The first U.S. hydroelectric power plant opened on the Fox River near Appleton, Wis., in 1882.
- Over one-half of the total U.S. hydroelectric capacity for electricity generation is concentrated in three states: Washington, California and Oregon.
- There are more than 75,000 dams in the U.S. but less than three percent of them produce electricity. Most dams were constructed solely to provide irrigation and flood control.
