Hydropower, also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a water source to produce power. Hydropower is a method of sustainable energy production. Hydropower is now used principally for hydroelectric power generation, and is also applied as one half of an energy storage system known as pumped-storage hydroelectricity.
Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH), or pumped hydroelectric energy storage (PHES), is a type of hydroelectric energy storage used by electric power systems for load balancing. The method stores energy in the form of gravitational potential energy of water, pumped from a lower elevation reservoir to a higher elevation. Low-cost surplus off-peak electric power is typically used to run the pumps. During periods of high electrical demand, the stored water is released through turbines to produce electric power. Although the losses of the pumping process make the plant a net consumer of energy overall, the system increases revenue by selling more electricity during periods of peak demand, when electricity prices are highest. If the upper lake collects significant rainfall or is fed by a river then the plant may be a net energy producer in the manner of a traditional hydroelectric plant.
The British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, operating as BC Hydro, is a Canadian electric utility in the province of British Columbia. It is the main electricity distributor, serving more than 4 million customers in most areas, with the exception of the City of New Westminster, where the city runs its own electrical department and portions of the West Kootenay, Okanagan, the Boundary Country and Similkameen regions, where FortisBC, a subsidiary of Fortis Inc. directly provides electric service to 213,000 customers and supplies municipally owned utilities in the same area. As a provincial Crown corporation, BC Hydro reports to the BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation, and is regulated by the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC). Its mandate is to generate, purchase, distribute and sell electricity.
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 Koyna Dam is one of the largest dams in Maharashtra, India. It is a rubble-concrete dam constructed on Koyna River which rises in Mahabaleshwar, a hillstation in Sahyadri ranges. It is located in Koyna Nagar, Satara district, in the Western Ghats on the state highway between Chiplun and Karad.
The Wivenhoe Power Station is situated between the Splityard Creek Dam and Lake Wivenhoe. The Splityard Creek Dam is situated in hills adjacent to Lake Wivenhoe and is about 100 metres (330 ft) above it. The power station is the only pumped storage hydroelectric plant in Queensland.
The Bhima River is a major river in Western India and South India. It flows southeast for 861 kilometres (535 mi) through Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Telangana states, before joining the Krishna River. After the first sixty-five kilometers in a narrow valley through rugged terrain, the banks open up and form a fertile agricultural area which is densely populated.
Tata Power Company Limited is an Indian electric utility and electricity generation company based in Mumbai, India and is part of the Tata Group. With an installed electricity generation capacity of 14,110 MW out of which 5250 MW is from Non-Conventional(Green Energy) sources rest from thermal, making it India's largest integrated power company. In February 2017, Tata Power became the first Indian company to ship over 1 GW solar modules.
The Shoalhaven Scheme is a dual-purpose water supply and Pumped-storage Hydroelectricity scheme located on the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia.
The Kundalika is a small river flowing from the hills of Sahyadri to the Arabian Sea. This river originates at a small town called Bhira in the Indian state of Maharashtra, 150 km south east of Bombay (Mumbai). The important towns located on the banks of Kundalika are Kolad, Korlai, Chaul, Roha and Salav.
Bhira Hydroelectric Project is an electricity generating complex in Bhira, Maharashtra state, India. It generates power using water from the nearby Mulshi Dam. Bhira lies approximately 150 km from Mumbai. Its construction was completed in 1927.
Run-of-river hydroelectricity (ROR) or run-of-the-river hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric generation plant whereby little or no water storage is provided. Run-of-the-river power plants may have no water storage at all or a limited amount of storage, in which case the storage reservoir is referred to as pondage. A plant without pondage is subject to seasonal river flows, so the plant will operate as an intermittent energy source. Conventional hydro uses reservoirs, which regulate water for flood control, dispatchable electrical power, and the provision of fresh water for agriculture.
Ujjani Dam, also known as Bhima Dam or Bhima Irrigation Project, on the Bhima River, a tributary of the Krishna River, is an earthfill cum Masonry gravity dam located near Ujjani village of Madha Taluk in Solapur district of the state of Maharashtra in India.
The Mahanirmiti or Mahagenco formerly known as MSEB is a major power generating plants in the state of Maharashtra, India and a wholly owned subsidiary of Maharashtra State Electricity Board. With a total generation of 14,400 MW, it is the largest power producing plants in India controlled by state government. The power generated by Mahagenco is supplied to Maharashtra. It was a part of Maharashtra State Electricity Board until 6 June 2005.
Kolad is a village in Raigad district, Maharashtra State, India. It is 117 km from Mumbai on the National Highway no 66(Mumbai-Goa) its also connected to Pune via Kolad Pune- Kolad state highway. It lies on the banks of River Kundalika. The village post office Postal Index Number is 402304 & 402109.
According to the International Hydropower Association, Canada is the fourth largest producer of hydroelectricity in the world in 2021 after the United States, Brazil, and China. In 2019, Canada produced 632.2 TWh of electricity with 60% of energy coming from Hydroelectric and Tidal Energy Sources).
The Koyna Hydroelectric Project is the second largest hydroelectric power plant in India, just after the Tehri Dam Project. It is a complex project with four dams including the largest dam on the Koyna River, Maharashtra, hence the name Koyna Hydroelectric Project. The project site is in Satara district.
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.
Cathaleen's Fall hydroelectric power station is a hydroelectric plant located on the River Erne at Ballyshannon in County Donegal, Ireland. Also known as Ballyshannon, it is owned and operated by the ESB Group. The plant consists of two Kaplan turbines providing a combined capacity of 45 MW (60,000 hp) within a concrete gravity dam 257 m (843 ft) long. Constructed between 1946 and 1955, it is the larger of two hydroelectric plants built between Belleek and Ballyshannon at the same time. Despite construction of the dam meaning the destruction of Assaroe Falls, a local beauty spot, Camlin Castle and many other dwellings, there was no local or national resistance to the project. It was the Ireland's first act of major co-operation with Northern Ireland since independence. The site appears in Conor McPherson's The Weir, to represent the fictional location in the play.
The Chaskaman Dam is one of the important dams of Maharashtra and is built on the Bhima River at Rajgurunagar in Pune district. It is located across river Bhima in Krishna basin near Village Bibi in Khed taluka. The main purpose of this dam was to improve irrigation and supply of electricity to the nearby villages. It is the second Hydel Greenfield power project in the country that is capable of captive power as well. The power will be utilized through the state power board. The project was completed during 2008-09.
