Hydroelectricity

By Anonymous -

Hydroelectricity

By: Samuel Desai

Introduction

Did you know that hydroelectricity is the oldest type of energy? Hydroelectricity was first used around 4000BCE when the Greeks invented the first water wheel. The water wheel took the current of the water to spin a wheel which could do many things. This early concept turned into hydroelectricity.

Pros

  1. Hydroelectricity is extremely cheap. Existing dams can produce at about $0.0035 per kWh. SEI 2
  2. Hydroelectricity is available at all times. Unlike wind and solar. SEI 2
  3. Low replacement costs. All you need to fix is some concrete, piping, and a turbine SEI 1.5
  4. Commonly used- Hydroelectricity already accounts for 48% of US renewable energy generation. SEI 1.5

Cons

  1. Droughts- because of climate change there is increased droughts. Take Nevada for instance. They are in the middle of a 15-year drought. The mighty colorado river is drying up. Which means less energy being produced. SEI -1.25
  2. Environmental impact- When you dam up a river, you need to make a reservoir. The three gorges dam has a reservoir the size of lake superior. Many people had to relocate because of this. To find out more watch the video above. SEI -2
  3. Fish migration. The turbines prevent fish from going upstream and downstream through the dam. This is only SEI-.5 because there are ways to allow the fish to go through.

Conclusion


 Hydroelectricity is an old yet reliable source of energy. This means it has an SEI of 3.25. It may hurt the environment when used in large dams, but small dams are great for producing energy. if you want to help the environment, protest building a coal power plant. Tell them that they should build a cheap, hydroelectric dam.


This is the final post in the series.

 Fossil Fuels, Biomass, Wave Power, and Hydroelectricity were done by Samuel Desai

Nuclear and Wind were done by Nathan Shan

Solar and Geothermal were done by Tej Mehta

Take our survey here

Thanks to:

Ben A
Scientific American Magazine
Bill Nye the Science Guy
Matthew G
Paris Y
Ipsita Srivastava
The people in Mrs. Sellitti's class
Mrs. Palmer
Ms. Sugar
Bradley G
Kevin Z
Joshua H
Eileen Y
Alan W
Kevin W
Sanjay D
and
Katherine D

The Hoover Dam. By far one of the most famous dams in the

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