socalledunitedstates:Back to Basics: Direct HydropowerIn a modern hydropower installation, a water t
socalledunitedstates:Back to Basics: Direct HydropowerIn a modern hydropower installation, a water turbine converts the energyin the moving water into rotational energy at its shaft, which is thenconverted into electrical energy by the generator that is coupled to theturbine. Next, the electrical energy is converted back into rotationalenergy by the electric motor of the machine that is being powered. Everyenergy conversion introduces energy loss. In an old fashioned hydropower installation, there wasonly one conversion of energy; A water wheel converted the energyinherent to the water source into rotational energy at its shaft. Thesame shaft also moved the machinery, so that the only source ofsignificant energy loss occurred in the water wheel itself.Some small direct hydro powered systems in South America present astrong case for combining the use of modern materials with old fashionedmethods of water power mechanization. The higher efficiency of this approach means that less water is neededto produce a given amount of energy. This lowers the cost of hydropowerand enables power to be produced by the use of very small streams.Read more… (Backup in case it’s cloudy in Barcelona) -- source link