Hydropower

The energy in falling water was recognized long before the discovery of electricity. For centuries, small natural waterfalls have been used to power waterwheels. which in turn rotate grindstones for milling wheat, corn, and other grains. The first use of water for generating electricity in the United States was in 1879 at Niagara Falls, New York, where the power was used to illuminate the falls with large lamps at night. ¹ Although its share of total electrical energy production reached a peak of about 40 percent in the 1930s and has declined since, hydropower remains a critical element in the overall energy balance in the United States, reaching 63.3 million kilowatts of installed capacity by 1980. ² In 1980, hydropower contributed 12.1 percent of net electricity generation by electric utilities, while the rest came from several other sources such as fossil-fuel steam-electric plants (75.7 percent), nuclear steam-electric plants (11.0 percent), gas turbine electric plants (1.1 percent), and internal combustion plants (0.2 percent). ³