As the world is running out of oil and other so called fossil fuels, we are looking for greener ways to generate energy. One of the things we could use for this is water. Below, we will briefly explain some ways to generate energy using water.

Hydroelectricity

What is hydroelectricity?

Hydroelectricity is way of generating energy by the use of flowing water but how does it work?

At first a dam is built to trap the water or they use an existing lake in a valley, than this water flows through the dam into a powerhouse where the water turns a turbine. This turbine turns a shaft that rotates a cycle of copper coils which create electricity eventually the electricity will be transmitted from the powerhouse to communities by transmission lines.

An advantage is that this way of generating electricity does not produce any waste or causes pollution. Another advantage is that this way is far more reliable than generating electricity with solar or wind power. And the most favourable advantage is that the electricity can be generated constantly in comparison to other ways of generating electricity with natural sources.

Disadvantages

A disadvantage is that it is very expensive to build these dams. Besides that the building of dams will cause problems for many animals and their habitat because lots of space is needed to built the dams. Another disadvantage is that is quite difficult to find a suitable place these dams because it could harm the environment, residents and the community.

Conclusion

Hydroelectricity is one of the most convenient ways to generate electricity because its constantly available and its renewable. Even though it involves a lot of costs , its applicable for many big communities.

Wave power is the transport of energy by ocean surface waves, and the capture of that energy. This energy can be used to generate electricity. One very important advantage of wave power is that there are always waves. The water surface constantly rises and falls, even if it is only a little and you can barely see it.

Right now, wave power is not a way to generate energy that is used a lot. This is because, at the moment, the costs are still quite high. But if money is put into research, the technology will be able to improve and costs will decrease.
The picture on the right shows how wave power stations work.

picture by the BBC

Generating energy using wave power is an environmentally friendly way to generate energy. As people are constantly looking for green ways to generate energy, using wave power could indeed become very important in the future.

Energy by ebb tide and high tide

Since July a new way of producing energy is possible by using the ebb and high tide. A turbine is put into the water and it starts moving by the power of the water. This power is greater in the time of ebb and high tide. Via an intern generator of energy, it can be transferred into energy which can be used for houses in this generator. It costs half a million to install such a turbine, but it spares a lot of money.

Why is this so much better than energy from coal and oil?

In this way the environment is not polluted as much. The emission of carbon dioxide is far less than the old methods. When the businesses producing energy by oil and coal will also have to pay the taxes for the environment, this way of producing energy will be cheaper as well.

The energy from coal and oil is a big contribution to air pollution, and this is one of the new ways to avoid that.

Local

Mijnwaterproject (mine water project)

In Heerlen, a city in in the south of the Netherlands, a project was set up in 2008 to show that it is possible to get energy from the water in the corridors of the old mines in the area. After the mines were all closed down, they were filled up with water. The mijnwaterproject group has proven that it is technically and economically possible. Between 2004 and 2008 it was researched whether the water can be used to warm up houses and other buildings.

After this research a building complex named Gen Coel was built, which was the first place in the world where energy was generated using mine water.

Gen Coel heats 200 houses, shops, a supermarket, a library and offices.

The energy thats used is environmentally friendly and has a lot of advantages, like the reduction of CO2 with 55%.

This way of generating energy is green and therefore should definitely be considered for other towns in the area that used to have mines.

Gen Coel

Project

Water & Energy made by:

Paola Mollering

Nicky Smeets

Laura Kolker

Jenny Aarts