Hydropower Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Hydropower - Essay Example This paper also deals with the uses of hydropower as the renewable energy resources in the environment. Hydropower is also known as waterpower. In simple words, it refers to the power of electricity produced from water currents. Hydropower energy thus involves hydroelectric dams as well as reservoirs, underground waterways and tidal plants among others. Hydropower is widely considered as more efficient, as compared to other energy sources, as it helps in decreasing the cost of electricity and increasing the reliability as well as flexibility of energy produced. Hydropower is however noted to be a costly method for the production of energy (7). It is worth mentioning in this context that energy is required for the progress of mankind and therefore, energy must be available in sufficient quantities along with affordable prices for the consumers, which the hydropower plants often fail to suffice. New and advanced technologies are also required for the availability of hydropower energy as well as for the safety of the environment. However, besides the fact that hydropower is regarded as a cost consuming energy production source, it is also perceived to impose strong negative affects to the environment, especially when concerning marine biological lifecycle (7). Nevertheless, one of the benefits of hydropower is its superior ability for fossil-fuel generation. Hydropower is also considered to protect from greenhouse gas emission at large quantities. It has often been argued that the developed hydropower will have the potential of making large contributions towards improvements in the living standard of developing countries, making energy available at cheaper rates. Compulsions of the recent era to suffice rising global demand, resulting in higher costs for fuel base energy sources have further led mankind to innovate new sources of energy, one of those being the water source, which has however been in use since traditional times (8). A few noteworthy