Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy. Once a hydroelectric complex is constructed, the project produces no direct waste, and has a considerably lower output level of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) than fossil fuel powered energy plants. Worldwide, an installed capacity of 777 GWe supplied 2998 TWh of hydroelectricity in 2006.[1] This was approximately 20% of the world's electricity, and accounted for about 88% of electricity from renewable sources.[2]Hydropower has been used since ancient times to grind flour and perform others tasks. In the mid-1770s, a French engineer Bernard Forest de Bélidor published Architecture Hydraulique which described vertical- and horizontal-axis hydraulic machines. By the late 19th century, the electrical generator was developed and could now be coupled with hydraulics.[3][4] The growing demand for the Industrial Revolution would drive development as well.[5] In 1878, the world's first house to be powered with hydroelectricity was Cragside in Northumberland, England. The old Schoelkopf Power Station No. 1 near Niagara Falls in the U.S. side began to produce electricity in 1881. The first Edison hydroelectric power plant - the Vulcan Street Plant - began operating September 30, 1882, in Appleton, Wisconsin, with an output of about 12.5 kilowatts.[6] By 1886 there was about 45 hydroelectric power plants in the U.S. and Canada. By 1889, there were 200 in the U.S.[3]
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Subject: Hydroelectricity 
Mon Nov 15, 2010 3:57 pm
