Hydropower: A historical perspective

Abstract

The essential process involved in hydropower is the extraction of energy from water, and this chapter begins with a brief historical account of how waterwheels and hydraulic turbines were developed to do this. For hydropower to compete economically with other energy sources, a means for efficiently converting the water’s potential and/or kinetic energy to rotational mechanical energy is essential. The limitations of the waterwheel in this respect and the remedy presented by the hydraulic turbine are discussed. The mutual benefit that arises from the marriage of hydropower and electricity is explained and some of the landmarks in the development of hydroelectricity, from its modest beginning to the giant hydroelectric schemes of today, are highlighted. In view of the primary topic of this book, there is an emphasis on the role of pumped storage hydroelectricity and the importance of the reversible pump-turbine. A final section considers the recent renaissance of small hydro schemes and the current interest in hydrokinetic conversion technology.