a) Hydropower was a clean and environmentally safe method of producing electricity.
b) In this respect, hydropower is better than burning coal, oil or natural gas.
c) Decaying vegetation, submerged by flooding, may give off quantities of greenhouse gases equivalent to those from other sources of electricity.
d) Reservoirs can be used for ensuring adequate water supplies, providing irrigation, and recreation.
e) Damming a river can alter the amount and quality of water in the river downstream of the dam, as well as preventing fish from migrating upstream to spawn.
f) These impacts can be reduced by requiring minimum flows downstream of a dam, and by creating fish ladders.
g) Harnessing this resource would require billions of dollars.
5. Say whether the following statements are true or false according to the text.
a) Until recently there was an almost universal belief that hydro-power was a clean and environmentally safe method of producing electricity.
b) Hydroelectric power plants emit the standard atmospheric pollutants such as carbon dioxide or sulfur dioxide.
c) Hydroelectric power plants result in the risks of radioactive contamination.
d) The most obvious impact of hydroelectric dams is the flooding of vast areas of land, much of it previously forested or used for agriculture.
e) The actual amount of electricity which will ever be generated by hydropower will be much more than the theoretical potential.
6. Complete the following sentences using the information from the text. a) Run of the river hydroplants without dams and reservoirs would not be a source of these (standard atmospheric pollutants; greenhouse gases).
b) Opposition to hydropower from environmentalists and native people, as well as new environmental assessments at the World Bank will restrict the amount of money spent on hydroelectric power construction (in the developing countries of the world; in the developed countries of the world).
c) Hydropower has environmental impacts which are very different from those of (nuclear power plants; fossilfuel power plants).
d) In North America and Europe, a large percentage of hydropower potential (has already been built; has already been developed).
7. Discuss in groups the advantages and disadvantages of hydroelectric power. Use the following expressions and structures:
I don't think... I totally disagree...
I don't suppose... I have a firm belief...
I'm sure (certain) that... There is no reason to deny...
It's.../likely, not very likely, I'm in complete agreement...
unlikely, possible
PART 2
• Read two texts to answer the questions given before each text.
What was the first recorded use of water power?
What was the first use of moving water to produce electricity?
When and where was the first of many hydroelectric power plants completed?
Why did small hydroplants fall out of favour?
Why are the environmental impacts of large hydro projects being identified as a cause for concern?
History of Hydropower
The first recorded use of water power was a clock, built around 250 ВС.' bmce that time, humans have used falling water to provide power for grain and saw mills, as well as a host of other applications. The first use of moving water to produce electricity was a waterwheel on the Fox river in Wis-°nsin in 1882, two years after Thomas Edison unveiled2 the incandescent ignt bulb. The first of many hydroelectric power plants at Niagara Falls Was c°nipleted shortly thereafter. Hydropower continued to play a major
Section I. Power
role in the expansion of electrical service early in this century, both in North America and around the world. Contemporary hydroelectric power plants! generate anywhere from a few kW, enough for a single residence, to thousands of MW, power enough to supply a large city.
Early hydroelectric power plants were much more reliable and effi-J cient than the fossil fuel fired plants of the day. This resulted in a proliferation of small to medium sized hydroelectric generating stations! distributed wherever there was an adequate supply of moving water and a need for electricity. As electricity demand soared3 in the middle years] of the 20th century and the efficiency of coal and oil fueled power plants] increased, small hydroplants fell out of favour. Most new hydroelectric development was focused on huge "mega-projects".
The majority of these power plants involved large dams which flooded vast areas of land to provide water storage and therefore a constant supply of electricity. In recent years, the environmental impacts of suchl large hydro projects are being identified as a cause for concern. It is] becoming increasingly difficult for developers to build new dams because of opposition from environmentalists and people living on the land to be flooded.
ijnit 5. Hydropower. Impacts 39
sign features mean that the flow conditions of the river will remain unaffected, there is a minimal effect on commercial traffic on the river and the attractiveness of the historic city centre is not compromised.
The new hydro scheme was built into an existing weir in such a way that the power house occupies a completely submerged cavern'. It is especially important that the hydro scheme does not affect the flooding characteristics of the river, as flooding has become more frequent over the last few decades.
Three bulb-type turbines, with a net head of 2.6 metres and a total flow rate of 140 cubic metres per second, provide an installed capacity of 3.1 MW. The design incorporates a number of innovative features and special components have had to be designed to suit a totally flooded operating environment.
City centres, and especially historic ones, are not generally considered as obvious2 candidates for the installation of power stations producing renewable energy. This project has demonstrated that such locations can participate in efforts to increase the use of clean and efficient energy technologies.
1 - до нашей эры; 2 - открыл; 3 - стремительно повысился
1. What has the innovative project demonstrated?
2. What do special design features mean?
3. How was the new hydro scheme built?
4. What does the design incorporate?
5. What has this project demonstrated?
NEW PROJECTS