A dam turns falling water into electricity with elegant simplicity: how high it drops times how much flows, times how good the turbine is.
Hydroelectric PowerLive
head × flow × gravity
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Hydroelectric power is beautifully simple: P = ρ·g·Q·H·η, the weight of water falling per second times the height it drops, times turbine efficiency. High-head mountain schemes need little water; low-head river plants need enormous flow. It is the most efficient and dispatchable of the major renewables.
Reading this result: Power scales linearly with all three inputs (P = ρ·g·Q·H·η), so doubling either the head or the flow doubles the output at this operating point.
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How it works
Hydroelectric power follows P = ρ·g·Q·H·η — the weight of water falling per second times its drop height times turbine efficiency. High-head mountain schemes need only a trickle; low-head river plants need vast flow. Hydropower is the most efficient and dispatchable major renewable, able to ramp up and down on demand.
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