page_title: Hydroelectricity
section_title: Underground
hierarchical_section_title: Hydroelectricity / Sizes, types and capacities of hydroelectric facilities / Underground
caption_attribution_description: English: Measurement of the tailrace and forebay rates at the Limestone Generating Station in Manitoba, Canada
context_page_description: Hydroelectricity is electricity produced from hydropower. In 2015, hydropower generated 16.6% of the world's total electricity and 70% of all renewable electricity, and was expected to increase by about 3.1% each year for the next 25 years.
  Hydropower is produced in 150 countries, with the Asia-Pacific region generating 33 percent of global hydropower in 2013. China is the largest hydroelectricity producer, with 920 TWh of production in 2013, representing 16.9% of domestic electricity use.
  The cost of hydroelectricity is relatively low, making it a competitive source of renewable electricity. The hydro station consumes no water, unlike coal or gas plants. The typical cost of electricity from a hydro station larger than 10 megawatts is 3 to 5 US cents per kilowatt hour. With a dam and reservoir it is also a flexible source of electricity, since the amount produced by the station can be varied up or down very rapidly to adapt to changing energy demands.
context_section_description: An underground power station is generally used at large facilities and makes use of a large natural height difference between two waterways, such as a waterfall or mountain lake. A tunnel is constructed to take water from the high reservoir to the generating hall built in a cavern near the lowest point of the water tunnel and a horizontal tailrace taking water away to the lower outlet waterway.
caption: Measurement of the tailrace and forebay rates at the Limestone Generating Station in Manitoba, Canada.
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