Renewable energy-Hydro

Flowing water creates energy that can be captured and turned into electricity. This is called hydroelectirc power or hydropower.

The most common type of hydroelectric power is generated when a dam is built in a river, which causes water to be stored behind it in a reservoir. When the water is released from the reservoir, it flows through a turbine, which enables a 'generator' to produce electricity. Ireland's largest hydropower scheme is Ardnacrusha on the River Shannon, which generates 86 MW of electricity. On the River Lee, the Carrigadhroid scheme generates 8MW, while the Inniscarra scheme generates 19MW. These are medium-scale projects.

But hydroelectric power doesn't always require a large dam. Some hydroelectric schemes just use a small canal to channel the river water through the turbine. An example is the Turbine House to the South of the Lifetime Lab. This small-scale scheme generates .023 MW of electricity which is supplied to the Lifetime Lab.

Hydropower systems that generate up to .01MW (or 100 KW -kilowatts) of electricity are often called microhydro systems. Most of the systems used by homes and small business owners would qualify as microhydro systems. In fact, a 10 KW system can generally provide enough power for a large home, a small resort, or a small farm.