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Hydroelectricity, hydroelectric-power, or Hydropower is a form of hydropower that uses the energy released as a result of water falling, or flowing downhill or by wave-differences, under the influence of gravity to produce electricity. Specifically, the mechanical energy of the flowing or waving water is converted to electrical energy by a Water turbine and generator. Hydroelectric power is usually generated at dams or other places where water descends from a height like coasts with a high tides difference. Hydroelectricity is a renewable energy source, since the water that flows in rivers has come from precipitation such as rain or snow and waves in the sea, or even ocean, are moon related.

The energy that may be extracted from water depends not only on the volume but on the difference in height between the water impoundment (or source) and the water outflow. This height difference is called the head. The amount of potential energyPotential energy U or E , a kind of scalar potential, is energy by virtue of matter being able to move to a lower-energy state, releasing energy in some form. For example a mass released above the Earth has energy resulting from the gravitational attracti in water is directly proportional to the head. For this reason, it is advantageous to build dams as a high as possible to produce the maximum electrical energy.

While many hydroelectric schemes supply public electricity networks, some projects were created for private commercial purposes. For example, aluminium processing requires substantial amounts of electricity, and in BritainThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a state in Western Europe, usually known simply as the United Kingdom the UK Britain or less accurately as Great Britain . The UK was formed by a series of Acts of Union which united the formerly's Scottish HighlandsThe Scottish Highlands are considered to be the mountainous regions of Scotland north of the Highland Boundary Fault. The area is generally sparsely populated, with many mountain ranges dominating the region. Regional administrative centres include Invern there are examples at KinlochlevenKinlochleven is a village in Scotland and lies at the eastern end of Loch Leven, a sea loch cutting into the western Scottish Highlands. To the north lie the Mamore range of mountains; to the south lie the mountains flanking Glen Coe. The village is domin and LochaberLochaber District 1975-96 Lochaber refers to a large area of the central and western Scottish Highlands. From 1975 the name Lochaber applied to a local government district within the Highland Region, which also included the islands of Rum, Eigg, Muck and, designed and constructed during the early years of the 20th century. Similarly, the 'van Blommestein' lake, dam and power station were constructed in SurinameThe Republic of Suriname more commonly known as Suriname or Surinam (formerly known as Netherlands Guiana and Dutch Guiana is a country in northern South America, in between French Guiana to the east and Guyana to the west. The southern border is shared w to provide electricity for the AlcoaThis article is about the company. For other uses, see Alcoa (disambiguation . Alcoa ( NYSE:AA) is an American company and one of the largest producers of aluminum. In 1894, Pittsburgh Reduction Company was established. This company changed its name to Al aluminium industry.

In Canada, the extensive use of hydroelectric power has resulted in the word "hydro" as being synonymous with electricity delivered by a power utility, in many parts of that country.