HYDRO POWER

Small Scale Hydro Power
Hydro power is perhaps the most long-established renewable energy technology. The first water wheels - used in irrigation - were developed in the far-east over two-thousand years ago. Later, waterwheels were applied to milling (hence watermills); by the time of the Industrial Revolution the use of waterwheels was extensive:

working the bellows in foundries and forges, driving the machinery of factories. Mechanical outputs ranged from a few hundred watts to a few tens of kilowatts. Towards the middle of the 19th Century the first water turbines were developed. The turbine was distinct from the wheel in that it was smaller, more compact, more efficient, and ran at a higher speed. The latter qualities made the water turbine particularly suited to use in electricity generation. With the effects of global warming now almost universally accepted, small hydropower schemes have enormous potential as an environmentally friendly renewable energy source.

Advantages include:
• Abundant and free energy source
• Environmentally friendly
• Highly reliable
• Cost-effective