Learn how hydroelectric power, or hydropower, captures the kinetic energy of flowing water and turns it into electricity for our homes and businesses.
Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy
August 13, 2013
minute read time
Learn how hydroelectric power, or hydropower, captures the kinetic energy of flowing water and turns it into electricity for our homes and businesses.
Humans have been using water to generate power for thousands of years. Hydroelectric power, or hydropower, captures the kinetic energy of flowing water and turns it into electricity, which is then fed into the electrical grid to be used in homes and businesses. This edition of Energy 101 shows how the Energy Department is supporting the development of new hydropower technologies to produce clean, renewable, and reliable power here in the United States.
For more information on hydropower from the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, visit the Water Power Program website.
Read the text version of the video.