How Does The Hoover Dam Create Electricity?

Since the time of its construction, the Hoover Dam has produced enormous amounts of electricity for Western Parts of the United States. Today, it is estimated that this plant generates 4 billion kilowatt-hours of hydroelectric power each year for use. But how is this energy created, and how is it distributed?

Initially, water flows around the dam and into four towers. From this, water goes from a higher elevation to a lower elevation, which creates force on the way down. And as the water creates force, it spins a turbine that generates energy.

Then, with the connection of a shaft, a generator is attached to the turbine and is surrounded by coils of copper wire. As the magnets spin, electrons become displaced from their initial positions in the copper wire, and generate electricity. In total, there are 17 generators in the Hoover Dam.

After this, the electricity created is set to high voltages, and is then transported with the use of transmission lines. These transmission lines go to substations, where they are further distributed to homes, commercial areas, and industrial areas.

The electricity is distributed based on the discretion of the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA). This organization forms contracts with municipalities, electric cooperatives, Native American Tribes, and Industrial Customers. The allocation of these resources is based on a variety of factors, but there is a general priority to which group receives the most power. Federal agencies are at the top, followed by municipal and county agencies, and private agencies are typically at the bottom of this priority list.

The Hoover Dam was a breakthrough in terms of generating sustainable power at a large scale. Not only does this structure regulate water flow in one of the major rivers in the United States, it allows for the powering of millions of American homes. As sustainability becomes a more urgent goal, engineers should look at the Hoover Dam for some standard inspiration.