Hydroelectricity

Hydroelectricity is electricity generated from hydropower, harnessing the energy of flowing or falling water. Water descends through a large pipe called a penstock from a reservoir or river to spin a turbine coupled to an electrical generator, and the power available depends on both the volume of water flowing and the height it falls. The first practical hydroelectric installation lit a single arc lamp at Cragside in England in 1878, and commercial-scale generation followed a few years later at the Vulcan Street Plant in Appleton, Wisconsin, which began operating on September 30, 1882, producing about 12.5 kilowatts; within a decade the United States already had roughly 200 hydroelectric stations. Hydroelectricity now supplies about 15 percent of the world electricity, roughly 4,210 terawatt-hours in 2023, more than every other renewable source combined and more than nuclear power, making it the leading renewable electricity technology worldwide.