ABSTRACT
The use of potential energy to drive a waterwheel and cogwheel gear dates to at least Roman engineer Marcus Vitruvius Pollio’s year 13 BC grain mill. By May 2015, Brazilian states in the Amazon region had 15 large dams with reservoirs filled and 37 dams under construction or planned. Renewable energy sources tap nature’s cyclical or long-lasting phenomena. As large hydropower clearly illustrates, the environmental and social impacts of renewable energy sources need to be placated for these sources to become sustainable. There are three main types of hydropower plants: run-of-river, storage hydro, and pumped storage. The most common type stores the potential energy of inland water by building a dam on the river. Hydropower contributes more than 16% of the global electricity generation and about 85% of the global renewable electricity. Large hydroelectric projects most often cause the relocation of considerable amounts of people and result in adverse social effects.
