Monday, October 22, 2012

What is Hydropower?

Hydropower (from hydro, meaning water) is energy that comes from the force of moving water. The fall and movement of water is part of a continuous natural cycle called the water cycle.

Energy from the sun evaporates water in the Earth’s oceans and rivers and draws it upward as water vapor. When the water vapor reaches the cooler air in the atmosphere, it condenses and forms clouds. The moisture eventually falls to the Earth as rain or snow, replenishing the water in the oceans and rivers. Gravity drives the water, moving it from high ground to low ground. The force of moving water can be extremely powerful.

Hydropower is called a renewable energy source because the water on Earth is continuously replenished by precipitation. As long as the water cycle continues, we won’t run out of this energy source.

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