Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower. Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4,500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and also more than nuclear power. Hydropower can provide large amounts of low-carbon electricity on demand, making it a key element for creating secure and clean electricity supply systems. A hydroelectric power station that has a dam and reservoir is a flexible source, since the amount of electricity produced can be increased or decreased in seconds or minutes in response to varying electricity demand. Once a hydroelectric complex is constructed, it produces no direct waste, and almost always emits considerably less greenhouse gas than fossil fuel-powered energy plants. However, when constructed in lowland rainforest areas, where part of the forest is inundated, substantial amounts of greenhouse gases may be emitted.
The Kama is a 1,805-kilometre (1,122 mi) long river in Russia. It has a drainage basin of 507,000 square kilometres (196,000 sq mi). It is the longest left tributary of the Volga and the largest one in discharge. At their confluence, in fact, the Kama is even larger than the Volga.
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) is a community-owned electric utility serving Sacramento County and parts of Placer County. It is one of the ten largest publicly owned utilities in the United States, generating the bulk of its power through natural gas and large hydroelectric generation plants. SMUD's green power (renewable) energy output was estimated as 33.8% in 2020.
Nagarjuna Sagar Dam is a masonry dam across the Krishna River at Nagarjuna Sagar which straddles the border between Palnadu district in Andhra Pradesh and Nalgonda district in Telangana. The dam provides irrigation water to the districts of Krishna, Guntur, Palnadu, Prakasam and parts of West Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh and also Nalgonda, Suryapet, Khammam, Bhadradri Kothagudem districts of Telangana. It is also a source of electricity generation for the national grid.
Lake Qaraoun is an artificial lake or reservoir located in the southern region of the Beqaa Valley, Lebanon. It was created near Qaraoun village in 1959 by building a 61 m-high (200 ft) concrete-faced rockfill dam in the middle reaches of the Litani River. The reservoir has been used for hydropower generation, domestic water supply, and for irrigation of 27,500 ha.
The Reno is a river of Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. It is the tenth longest river in Italy and the most important of the region apart from the Po.
Lago del Barbellino is the largest artificial lake in the Province of Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy. It is located in Valbondione among the Bergamasque Alps. The reservoir contains 18.5 million cubic metres of water. In 1931 a dam was built to supply hydroelectric power to the Seriana Valley where the textile industry was rapidly developing.
The El Cajón Dam, officially known as Central Hidroeléctrica Francisco Morazán, is a hydroelectric power plant located in Western Honduras. The dam impounds the Comayagua River, which derives its large volume from two large tributaries, the Humuya River and the Sulaco River. El Cajón is a double arch dam, which uses parabolic geometry in horizontal and vertical axises to spread the weight of the impounded water to canyon walls which act as buttresses. Overall, the dam is the fifth highest dam in the Americas and the 15 th highest in the world, as well as the highest arch dam in the western hemisphere, and the sixth highest worldwide.
The Shamkir reservoir is a large reservoir built on the Kura River in the Shamkir Rayon of northwestern Azerbaijan. It is the second-largest reservoir in the Caucasus after the Mingachevir reservoir.
The Daecheong Dam is a combination concrete gravity and embankment dam on the Geum River, 16 km (10 mi) north of Daejeon in South Korea. The multi-purpose dam provides benefits of flood control, water supply and hydroelectric power generation. Construction on the dam began in 1975 and was formally commissioned on 1 December 1980. The 72 m (236 ft) high rock-fill dam has a central clay core and has created a reservoir with storage of 1,490,000,000 m3 (1,207,963 acre⋅ft).
The Daguangba Dam is a multi-purpose dam on the Changhua River in Hainan Province, China. It is located 35 km (22 mi) east of Dongfang. As the primary component of the Daguangba Multipurpose Project, the dam was constructed between 1990 and 1995. It serves to provide water for both hydroelectric power generation and agriculture. It supports a 240 MW power station and supplies water for the irrigation of 12,700 ha. It is also the largest dam and hydroelectric power station in Hainan.
The Daryan Dam, also spelled Darian, is an embankment dam constructed on the Sirvan River just north of Daryan in Paveh County, Kermanshah Province, Iran. The primary purpose of the dam is to supply up to 1,378,000,000 m3 (1,117,000 acre⋅ft) of water annually to the 48 km (30 mi) long Nowsud Water Conveyance Tunnel where it will irrigate areas of Southwestern Iran. The dam also has a 210 MW hydroelectric power station. Construction on the dam began in 2009 and the dam began to fill its reservoir in late November 2015. The Darian Dam Archaeological Salvage Program (DDASP) was planned by Iranian Center for Archaeological Research before flooding the reservoir. As a result, a number of important archaeological sites were discovered and some were excavated. The power station was commissioned in 2018. The dam's diversion tunnel was completed in June 2011. The dam was designed by Stucky of France and consultation was provided by Mahab Ghodss, International Consulting Engineering Co. In August 2010 Farab Co. won the contract to build the power station. In 2011, workers on the project held a protest against unpaid wages. The dam is also the subject of protest due to the forced relocations and ecological/cultural impact its reservoir will have.
The Upper North Fork Feather River Project is a hydroelectric scheme in the Sierra Nevada of California, within Lassen and Plumas Counties. The project consists of three dams, five power plants, and multiple conduits and tunnels in the headwaters of the North Fork Feather River, a major tributary of the Feather—Sacramento River systems. The total installed capacity is 362.3 megawatts (MW), producing an annual average of 1,171.9 gigawatt hours (GWh). The project is also contracted for the delivery of irrigation water between March 31 and October 31 of each year. The project is owned and operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
Ghatghar Dam refers to two associated gravity dams built using roller-compacted concrete, the first use in India. They are situated in Ghatghar village in Ahmednagar district Maharashtra, India. Both dams create a lower and upper reservoir for the 250 MW pumped-storage hydroelectric power station. The upper Ghatghar dam is 15 m (49 ft) tall and on the Pravara River, a tributary of Godavari River. The lower Ghatghar dam is 86 m (282 ft) tall and located on the Shahi Nalla which is a tributary of Ulhas River to the south west of the upper reservoir in a steep valley. The hydro power project diverts Godavari River basin water outside the basin area to a west flowing river of Western ghats.
Trebinje I Hydroelectric Power Station or Trebinje-1 Hydroelectric Power Station is hydroelectric power plant (HPP) on the Trebišnjica River near Gornje Grančarevo in the municipality of Trebinje in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Trebinje-1 HPP is accumulation with dam toe powerhouse type of facility with a large Grančarevo arch dam. At the height of 123 m (404 ft), Grančarevo dam is the tallest dam in the country. Its reservoir, Bileća Lake, is the largest by volume in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well. The dam provides for flood control and hydroelectric power generation at Trebinje-1 HPP. The dam was completed in 1967 and its 180 MW power station, A smaller 8 MW power station, Treblinje-2, was completed downstream in 1979.
The Bissorte Dam is a gravity dam in the Maurienne Valley, in Savoie, France, about 7 km (4.3 mi) east of Valmeinier. It was built from 1930 to 1935 to supply a hydroelectric plant capable of generating 75 megawatts (MW) of power.
The Batak Hydroelectric Cascade is situated in the Pazardzhik Province, southern Bulgaria and is among the first hydroelectric cascades in the country. Inaugurated on 6 September 1959, it includes seven reservoirs and three underground hydro power plants — Batak, Peshtera and Aleko with a combined installed capacity of 254.2 MW, producing an average of 796 GWh annually.
The Dospat–Vacha Hydroelectric Cascade is situated in the western Rhodope Mountains of southern Bulgaria, on the territory of the Smolyan, Pazardzhik and Plovdiv Provinces. It is owned by the National Electricity Company. The cascade was constructed between 1963 and 2010 by "Hydrostroy".
On 9 April 2024, an explosion at the Bargi hydroelectric power station hydroelectric power plant owned by Enel Green Power left seven workers dead and five others critically injured. The power station is located in Bargi, one of the villages around Lake Suviana lying upstream, in Camugnano near Bologna, Italy.
Lake Suviana is an artificial lake located in metropolitan city of Bologna, Italy in the Bolognese Apennines, formed following the construction of a 91.5 m high dam, begun in 1928 and completed in 1932.
