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Energy & Renewables vocabulary · Hydro, Nuclear and Other Sources

Hydropower

Meaning in energy & renewables, with examples

/ˈhaɪdroʊˌpaʊər/nounCore term

In energy & renewables, hydropower means: Electricity produced by water flowing through turbines, usually from a river or from a reservoir behind a dam. It is the oldest large-scale renewable power source.

In Turkish: hidroelektrik, hidroelektrik enerji, su gücü

How it is used

Also called hydroelectric power or simply hydro ('hydro output was low this year'). Reservoir plants behind dams can store water; run-of-river plants use the natural flow. Output depends on rainfall and snowmelt.

Example sentences

  1. After a dry winter, hydropower output dropped by almost a third.

  2. Reservoir hydropower can respond within minutes when demand rises.

Common collocations

  • hydropower plant
  • run-of-river hydropower
  • hydropower output
  • small hydropower
  • damA large wall built across a river to hold back water and create a reservoir. In hydropower plants, the stored water flows through turbines to generate electricity.
  • pumped hydro storageStoring energy by pumping water up to a higher reservoir when electricity is cheap or plentiful, then releasing it through turbines to generate power when needed.
  • renewable energyEnergy from sources that nature replaces all the time, such as sunlight, wind, flowing water, the Earth's heat and organic material, so they do not run out like coal, oil or gas.
  • dispatchableDescribing a power source whose output can be started, raised or lowered on request, such as gas, reservoir hydro or batteries, unlike weather-dependent solar and wind.

More terms: Hydro, Nuclear and Other Sources

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