A short history of hydroelectricity

Hydroelectricity was born in the last decades of the nineteenth century, benefiting from the pre-existing achievements of hydraulic technologies, and taking advantage of new developments in electric generators. It has experienced a very rapid development under the pressure of growing industrial energy demand, and needs related to the development of cities. Some regions such as the Alps or the Great Lakes basin in North America have experienced rapid development since the last decade of the nineteenth century. For a long time, city–hydroelectric plant couples allowed the development of local electricity systems, until the development of interconnected networks made it possible to efficiently share the hydroelectric resource, and to guarantee its security of supply. Gradually, large rivers became the object of chain development of low-chute plants, while the middle course of these rivers were the site for large and very large dams. Many environmental, political and human problems must be taken into account in the analysis of the past and future development of hydroelectricity, which is the most abundant source of renewable electrical energy.