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When was hydropower invented?

Hydropower is used to produce electricity. It is the second most important source of energy in terms of electricity production in France, behind nuclear power. It is also the leading source of renewable energy in our country. But what is hydropower? When was it invented? How does it work? That's what we're going to find out together today in this article.

A LITTLE HISTORY

Let's start by looking back at the history of hydropower. Known well before the Industrial Revolution, water power was already being used by our ancestors. Water mills, for example, transformed hydraulic energy into mechanical power. But it was at the end of the 19th century, in the midst of the Industrial Revolution, that things changed, and very quickly. The first dams were initially designed only to hold back water and were not yet equipped with electric turbines. At the time, electricity in France, and more widely in the rest of the world, was still generated by small coal-fired power stations. But thanks to research, the end of the 19th century saw the arrival of electric turbines, which were later used to equip hydraulic dams. The first hydroelectric power stations were built in the Alps region of France. Initially designed to meet local needs, these power stations were to expand after the First World War. The inter-war period was marked by considerable development of the electricity network. Thanks to the first electric dams, electricity production increased eightfold in the 1920s. But when exactly was hydropower invented? Mainly in the last two decades of the 19th century. The industrial revolution underway at the time had a major impact on the need for electricity.

How does hydropower work?

Although constantly improved since its creation, the principle of hydropower has remained the same. Simply put, dams hold back large quantities of water in artificial lakes. These dams are equipped with turbines that are activated when the water held in the artificial lake is released into the river. This will generate a force that will then be transformed into electricity and fed into the power grid. The force generated by the release of water depends either on the height of the waterfall or on the flow rate of the watercourse on which the dam is installed. There are currently more than 2,000 such power plants in France. This makes hydropower the leading source of renewable energy in our country.

What are the advantages of this technique?

France has an abundance of rivers and streams, which made it possible to build a large number of dams in the early days ofhydroelectric power. The advantage of hydropower is that it can generate a large amount of energy at any one time. The needs of users vary constantly, depending on the season and the time of day. Hydropower makes it possible to adjust to these needs. In fact, this resource can be mobilised quickly if demand increases.

Unfortunately, although this technique has proved its worth over the course of our history, it now has a number of drawbacks. Even though it is still considered a renewable energy source, some people criticise it for destroying ecosystems. But it remains a good alternative to coal and nuclear power, and has always been highly efficient.

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