Our nation s first industrial use of hydropower to generate electricity occurred in 1880, when 16 brush-arc lamps were powered using a water turbine at the Wolverine Chair Factory in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The first U.S. hydroelectric power plant opened on the Fox River near Appleton, Wisconsin, on September 30, 1882. Until that time, coal was the only fuel used to produce electricity. Because the source of hydropower is water, hydroelectric power plants must be located on a water source. Therefore, it wasn t until the technology to transmit electricity over long distances was developed that hydropower became widely used.
Mechanical energy is derived by directing, harnessing, or channeling moving water.
The amount of available energy in moving water is determined by its flow or fall . Swiftly flowing water in a big river, like the Columbia River along the border between Oregon and Washington, carries a great deal of energy in its flow. So, too, with water descending rapidly from a very high point, like Niagara Falls in New York. In either instance, the water flows through a pipe, or penstock , then pushes against and turns blades in a turbine to spin a generator to produce electricity. Meanwhile, the reservoirs or lakes are used for boating and fishing, and often the rivers beyond the dams provide opportunities for whitewater rafting and kayaking.