For Students
Science & Tech
hydroelectric power
Also known as: hydropower
hydroelectric turbine generators
Category:
Science & Tech
- Also called:
- hydropower
- Key People:
- Jamsetji Tata
- Related Topics:
- power
- waterpower
- pumped-storage system
hydroelectric power, electricity produced from generators driven by turbines that convert the potential energy of falling or fast-flowing water into mechanical energy. In the early 21st century, hydroelectric power was the most widely utilized form of renewable energy; in 2019 it accounted for more than 18 percent of the world’s total power generation capacity. In the generation of hydroelectric power, water is collected or stored at a higher elevation and led downward through large pipes or tunnels (penstocks) to a lower elevation; the difference in these two elevations is known as the head. At the end of its passage down ...(100 of 653 words)