Hydroelectric Power
Hydroelectric power, or hydroelectricity, is generated
by the force of falling water. (Hydro comes from the Greek
word for water.) It’s one of the cleanest sources of energy, and
it’s also the most reliable and costs the least. That means that
TVA’s hydroelectric
power plants are able provide electricity at a reasonable cost
to families, schools, farms, factories and businesses.
How does hydroelectric power work?
Water is needed to run a hydroelectric power-generating unit. The water is held behind a dam, forming an artificial lake, or reservoir. The force of the water being released from the reservoir through the dam spins the blades of a giant turbine. The turbine is connected to the generator that makes electricity as it spins. After passing through the turbine, the water flows back into the river on the other side of the dam.
TVA uses water to make electricity at 29 hydroelectric dams and one pumped-storage power plant (at Raccoon Mountain near Chattanooga, Tennessee). Together these plants produced about 13.9 million megawatt hours of electricity in 2016, enough electricity to power nearly one million homes for a year.