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📘 How does a dam generate electricity?

Follow stored water through a penstock, turbine, generator, transformer, and tailrace.

10
lessons
~10 min
to learn
🔬 Science
subject
Adults
level
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What you’ll learn

  1. Stored energy
  2. Intake
  3. Penstock
  4. Turbine
  5. Generator
  6. Grid connection
  7. Flow control
  8. Spillway
  9. Pumped storage
  10. The complete plant

Questions this course answers

What does head mean in hydropower?

Head is the change in elevation between the upstream and downstream water levels.

What does a turbine convert?

Water force and direction changes create torque on the turbine runner.

What does the generator do?

Magnetic motion through conductors induces the generator's voltage.

Why does a hydropower plant have a spillway?

Spillways protect the dam by routing unusual inflows around the generating equipment.

What is pumped storage mainly used for?

Pumped storage stores energy as elevated water and generates later when needed.

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