6.

TRANSFORMER CLICK FOR

VIDEO
STEP-UP TRANSFORMERS increase the voltage of
electricity produced by the generator.

1. THE PENSTOCK CLICK FOR

VIDEO
WATER FROM A river or reservoir flows through a penstock, a large pipe that can be above or
below ground.
<< PREVIOUS SLIDE

3. TURBINE BLADES CLICK FOR

VIDEO
THE SHAPE AND ANGLE of the turbine blades transfers
the energy of falling water to rotate the shaft.
<< PREVIOUS SLIDE
2. THE TURBINE CLICK FOR VIDEO
TURBINE BLADES are pushed by flowing
water from the penstock, causing them to rotate.
<< PREVIOUS SLIDE

4. TURBINE SHAFT
CLICK FOR VIDEO
THE SHAFT CONNECTS the turbine to the
generator. The shaft turns at the same speed
5. GENERATOR CLICK FOR VIDEO

THE SPINNING SHAFT turns magnets inside a stationary ring of copper, moving electrons to
produce electricity.
<< PREVIOUS SLIDE
 Search!

For more info about this site, send email to info@fwee.org

© Copyright 1999 - 2004 by FWEE

Hydro Tour | Fish Tour | Wind Turbine Tour | How Hydro Works | Generator Tour | Hydro
Facts | Timeline | Hydro News | Links | Glossary

7. TRANSMISSON LINES CLICK FOR

VIDEO

TRANSMISSON LINES carry electricity to substations in our communities. The voltage is

decreased and the power is distributed to homes and businesses.
. WATER FLOW CLICK FOR VIDEO

THE SAME AMOUNT of water that entered through the penstock flows back to the river through
the draft tube.
<< PREVIOUS SLIDE NEXT SLIDE >>

<< BACK TO TOUR MAIN PAGE

Animation donated by GE Hydro

9. SPILLWAY CLICK FOR VIDEO

SPILLWAYS RELEASE water downstream that is not used to make energy.

The Jhonghua Dam on the Dahan River in Taoyuan County, Taiwan

A reservoir is an artificial lake used to store water. Reservoirs are often created by building a
reinforced dam, usually out of concrete, earth, rock, or a mixture across a river or stream. Once the
dam is completed, the stream fills the reservoir. When a reservoir is predominantly man-made
(rather than being an adaptation of a natural basin) it may be called a cistern. The term reservoir is
also often used to describe underground reservoirs such as an oil or water well.
Contents
[hide]
• 1 Types
• 1
.
1

V
a
l
l
e
y

d
a
m
m
e
d

r
e
s
e
r
v
o
i
r

• 1
.
2

B
a
n
k
-
s
i
d
e

r
e
s
e
r
v
 • File
• File history
• File links
• Metadata

Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixels

Full resolution (2,848 × 2,136 pixels, file size: 2.98 MB, MIME type: image/jpeg)

This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons. The description on its description
page there is shown below.
Commons is a freely licensed media file repository. You can help.

[edit] Summary
Madison Gas & Electric Powerhouse.jpg
Description English: Madison Gas & Electric Powerhouse. Added to the National Register of
Historic Places in 2002.
 Date 5 July 2009(2009-07-05)

Source Own work

Author James Steakley

Permission See below.

(Reusing this
file)
Other
versions

[edit] Licensing