Water has been harnessed for more than 2,000 years, with 5,000 waterwheels recorded in the Domesday Book. In the UK, hydro power was commonly used before the Industrial Revolution to drive mills and machinery. Today, there are three main ways to use water to produce electricity:
Tidal power
This system works by using the gravitational pull of the moon, which creates tidal rises and falls, to drive turbines to produce electricity.
Wave power
The mass of kinetic energy created by waves can be captured and used to drive a turbine to produce electricity. There are several different wave devices currently being trialed in the UK.
Hydro power
This is the most common way of generating electricity from water at the moment. Generally, a reservoir is built with a dam in it, a mass of water is held back by the dam, and then suddenly released sending the water through a turbine at great force.
The Government grant
‘Low Carbon Buildings Programme’ is designed to help with cost of installing small-scale hydro turbines.
Contacts
Energy Saving Trust Advice Centre for London
Telephone: 0800 512012
E-mail: advice@est-london.org.uk
Website: www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/london