Hydroelectric power, or hydroelectricity, is electrical energy that has been generated using natural forces such as gravity or flowing water. Hydroelectric power is becoming increasingly popular around the world.
Dams can generate electricity because they contain special mechanisms designed to take the energy in flowing water and turn it into electrical power. They can store and direct large volumes of water and are common sources of hydroelectricity. But how do dams generate hydroelectricity? A power source is used to spin a turbine which in turn spins a metal shaft, forming the equivalent of an electrical generator that produces and stores electricity. The power source, in the case of hydropower, is water itself. When water moves a turbine, the turbine spins, and electromagnets in the turbine generate an electric current in the stationary coils of wire inside them.
