By Adam May, TVA Media Relations
(GILBERTSVILLE, Ky.)Hydroelectric power is the most reliable, most efficient, cleanest and most economical of all renewable energy sources. And thanks to the Tennessee River system, we have plenty of it in our region.
It helps TVA provide affordable and reliable electricity to the people and businesses of the Tennessee Valley.
National Hydropower Day is Sunday and it’s a time to celebrate one of the world’s oldest sources of energy. According to the U.S Department of Energy, the Greeks used water wheels to grind wheat into flour more than 2,000 years ago. In 1880, a dynamo, a device that converts mechanical energy into electric energy, powered by a water turbine provided power to a theatre and storefront in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Hydropower is an important part of TVA’s diverse generation. In the 1940’s, TVA launched one of the largest hydropower construction programs ever undertaken in the United States as it helped power the country’s fight in World War II.
TVA’s hydroelectric system comprises:
- 29 power-generating dams throughout the Tennessee River system, some of which date back to the TVA’s early days in the 1930s
- A pumped-storage plant near Chattanooga called Raccoon Mountain
- Purchased power from eight dams on the Cumberland River operated by the Army Corps of Engineers
Hydropower is quickly dispatchable, meaning it can go from stopped to generating at full capacity within just a few minutes. This is especially important on the hottest days of the summer or on the coldest mornings in the winter when power demand peaks at the highest levels of the year.
TVA’s hydroelectric dams and their reservoirs provide additional benefits to our region, including flood control, river navigation, and popular recreational opportunities.