Why Hydro Power?

Why hydro power when there are other perfectly good renewable energy resources available?  The wind blows and the sun shines almost everywhere in the world, but only certain areas have enough water to be usable for generating hydroelectricity.

Hydro power is used because with modern technology it has become a very efficient process in converting the mechanical energy of water into electricity.  Hydroelectric systems create about 70% of all electricity coming from a renewable energy source because it often less expensive to operate than other renewable energy projects, which is why hydro power is often used.

Unfortunately, most of the efficient locations to build large scale hydro plants have already been exploited, even with some of the negative effects it has on the environment.  This is why hydro power is moving towards new micro-hydro systems, which are being used and improved to work in locations with less volume of water.  Micro-hydroelectric systems are also finding their ways into private homes for electrical generation.

A well built hydro-power system can be a very efficient source of energy production, which is why hydro power is the most used source of renewable energy in the United States.

Why Hydro power in the US?

The US uses more energy from hydro power than any other renewable resource.  The geography of the US provides many different possible areas for hydro plants.