CHAPTER ONE WHAT IS HYDROELECTRIC POWER It's a hot afternoon in California People are beginning to leave their offices for the day When they get home many of them will turn on their air conditioners Huge amounts of electricity will be needed At a nearby river workers at a hydroelectric plant spring into action A dam blocks the river forming an artificial lake called a reservoir Doors in the dam Hydroelectric plants turn the rushing motion of falling water into electricity
lift and water begins to rush through It careens into the plant The water crashes into turbines making the blades spin Generators turn this spinning motion into electricity In seconds this electricity is ready to make the city’s air conditioners hum They will run on hydroelectric power Hydro is Greek for water Hydroelectric plants convert the energy of falling water into electricity They use water from rivers and streams Hydroelectricity does not pollute the environment It is a clean reliable way to generate electricity Fueling Our Lives Before the 1700s taking advantage of flowing water was the only way to do work without human or animal power People used water mills to grind grains and do other simple tasks In the late 1700s the industrial revolution saw the invention of the steam engine The world began to use fossil fuels such as oil coal and natural gas to power these engines 6
