how does HYDROELECTRICITY work?
Hydroelectricity is when you use water power to create electricity. The morphograph ‘hydro’ is a Greek word for water.
The first step is to store water in dams, lakes and reservoirs. It’s stored high in the Snowy Mountains, because there is less evaporation up there. When the water is stored it has potential energy. Potential energy is the energy something gets when it’s ready to go and turned into kinetic energy.
When enough water is stored it’s released through pipes and has kinetic energy, then travels to the power stations, where the turbines are. Because it’s located in the Snowy Mountains the water has more kinetic energy when it falls from a great height, so gravity forces the water to fall quickly.
When the water reaches the turbines, it pushes the turbine blades and turns a copper wire coil and this static is turned into electricity. Finally all this electricity is then transported to houses via power lines.
Hydroelectricity is when water is stored in dams, then released through pipes to spin turbines. Then the electricity is transported through power lines to homes.