Hydroelectric - How Solar Plants Work

Water is another very important energy resource. Hydropower comes from the force of moving water and is a clean, renewable and environmentally friendly source of energy. There is no fuel to burn, so there are no emissions released into the air. The use of hydropower is also economical and helps conserve our fossil fuels.

Hydroelectric plants work like this:

Stage	Description
1	The force of moving water is very powerful, and a hydroelectric plant uses that force to generate electricity. Hydroelectric plants are built near moving water such as a river and also man-made facilities, such as dams, that create moving water. The dams are built on reservoirs or lakes and have gates that can open or close to control the water flowing over the dam.
2	The energy from hydropower changes. The falling water is gravitational energy. As the water enters the turbine, that energy is converted to mechanical energy as the force of the water turns the turbine.
3	The generator connected to the turbine rotates, changing the mechanical energy to electrical energy.
4	The transformers convert the electricity to usable voltage levels. The electricity is then sent through the transmission lines to distribution stations.