Hydroelectric energy Facts

Understanding Hydroelectric Energy?

Moving water creates energy that can be grabbed and converted into electricity. This is certainly called hydroelectric power or hydropower.

In Ireland, the initial hydroelectric power place ended up being built on the River Shannon, at Ardnacrusha, and launched in 1929. Supplying 85MW electrical energy, it was the largest plan of the kind on earth at the time and made possible the electrification of towns and villages in Ireland.

The most common style of hydroelectric power-plant makes use of a dam on a lake to keep liquid in a reservoir. Water circulated from reservoir moves through a turbine, spinning it, which often triggers a generator to make electrical energy. But hydroelectric power does not necessarily need a large dam. Some hydroelectric energy plants only use a small channel to channel the river water through a turbine.

In Ireland, the greatest dammed energy stations (over 20MW) tend to be Ardnacrusha (R. Shannon); Ballyshannon (R.Erne) and Poulaphuca (Blessington Lakes)

Pumped Storage Plant

Another kind of hydroelectric power-plant – labeled as a moved storage plant – can keep energy. The ability is sent from a power grid to the electric generators. The generators then spin the turbines backward, which in turn causes the turbines to pump water from a river or reduced reservoir to an upper reservoir, where power is kept. To make use of the energy, water is released from the top reservoir back down in to the lake or reduced reservoir. This spins the turbines ahead, activating the generators to make electricity.

In Ireland, the only real example of a pumped storage plant is Turlough Hill.

Operating out of the heart for the Wicklow Mountains, Turlough Hill energy place makes to 292MW of electrical energy during top need durations by releasing water from the upper reservoir and and can flow through its four turbines into a lower reservoir. During times of reduced demand the water is moved to the top of reservoir prepared be applied once again.

Micro-hydroelectric energy

A tiny or micro-hydroelectric energy system can produce enough electricity for a home, farm or small community. When making such a hydro plant, the electrical energy created may be used right on web site to replace electricity imports to a facility or even the electricity is shipped to be able to get a set payment from an Electricity provider for output made out of the turbine. The Government is applying a Renewable power Feed In Tariff (REFIT) while offering hydro generators 7.2c per kWh of electricity created after the necessary planning permissions and grid connection provide have now been gotten. [See more at