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Published in:
2013 | OriginalPaper | Chapter
9. Hydropower
Authors : Ricardo Guerrero-Lemus, José Manuel Martínez-Duart
Published in: Renewable Energies and CO2
Publisher: Springer London
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Abstract
Hydropower is by large the main contributor to electricity production of all renewable resources. Hydropower is a very mature technology for the production of electricity at very competitive prices; furthermore, it can be considered for base-load generation, it responds extremely fast to energy peak demands and it can be stored by means of pumped hydro systems. However, the construction of large hydropower plants (>1 GW) often cause the displacement of large populations from their homes and significant environmental problems in river flora and fauna ecosystems. For these reasons, as we will see in this chapter, hydropower research is at present also focused on small-scale mini-power plants and run-of-river systems. We will also describe the different types of power turbines, which are most often employed depending on the height of the effective head of the reservoir, water flow and velocity, etc.