Hydroelectric+Dam+Power

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 * Dam It! ** [[image:Water_turbine_grandcoulee.jpg width="300" height="218" align="right" caption="This is a picture of one of the water turbines at the Grand Coulee Dam"]] ** Harnessing the Power of the River: by Owen Page **======

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 * Hydropower- Mechanical energy derived from falling or flowing water e.g. rivers, streams and dam overflow Turbine - A machine for producing continuous power in which a wheel or rotor is made to revolve by a fast moving flow of water, gas, steam air, or other fluid **======

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This is a video about Wyoming's thirteen dams and how they work. In 2005, these dams produced almost 800 million kilowatt-hours of energy, which is a lot more than the state of Wyoming may need. This is a photo of the 17 main turbines within Hoover Dam. There are also two station service units within the dam. The combined electricity produced by these machines is between two and ten billion kilowatt-hours of electricity every year.


 * __How It Works[1]__**
 * 1) The water in the reservoir enters the water intake and flows through the penstock pipes
 * 2) Gravity causes the water to fall through the penstock
 * 3) The water turns the turbine propeller at the end of the penstock
 * 4) The shaft leads up to the generator, which produces power
 * 5) Power lines that are connected to the generator carry the electricity to homes, schools, and other buildings
 * 6) After going through the propeller, the water continues through the tailrace and into the river behind the dam

"Brazil grants environmental license for Belo Monte Dam" This is an article about a controversial hydroelectric dam that is to be built in the Amazon Rainforest. This is a good example of some of the disadvantages of hydroelectric power.

In Step #1, the gravitational potential energy of the water is being transformed into the kinetic energy of the water. In Step #3, the kinetic energy of the water is being transformed into the electrical energy of the generator.
 * __Conservation of energy__**


 * __Footnotes__**

 Darvill, Andy. **__Energy Sources: Hydroelectric Powe__**r. 11 Jan 2010. Darvill.Clara.net [2]  Graham, Ian. **__Energy Forever: Water Power.__** Raintree Steck-Vaughn. 1999[3]
 * __Hydroelectric Power__****__: How It Works__**. 29 Mar 2010. U.S Department of Interior. 10 Apr 2010 [1]