Benefits of Waterpower
- Waterpower is the production of power through the use of falling or moving water. Energy is derived from water based on two key factors, the amount of flow and the height (head) from which it falls.
- The energy of falling water is used to turn turbine blades which, in turn, powers a generator that produces the electrical current.
- The water then re-enters the river in virtually the same quality and volume as it entered the system.
- Waterpower is expensive to build and the economics that determine whether a facility should be built can be complex, particularly when a range of environmental and social considerations are put into play.
- Waterpower has been a major source of electricity in Ontario for over a century. It remains a clean, efficient, versatile and renewable energy source with a variety of benefits to the people of Ontario.
