We have a proud 100-year history as owner, operator and developer of hydroelectric generation providing the basis of our renewable energy business and expertise.
Hydropower converts the natural flow of water into electricity to light our homes and power our industries. The energy is produced by the fall of water turning the blades of a turbine. The turbine is connected to a generator that converts the energy into electricity.
The amount of electricity a hydropower installation can produce depends on the quantity of water passing through a turbine (the volume of water flow) and on the height from which the water falls (the amount of head). The greater the flow and the head, the more electricity produced.
There are different types and sizes of hydropower installations, ranging from micro hydro plants that provide electricity to only a few homes to mega installations.
Some hydropower facilities include dams to increase the head of a waterfall or to control the flow of water, and reservoirs to store the water for future energy use (storage dam), while others produce electricity by immediately using a river's water flow (run-of-river).
For more information on hydropower, please visit the following websites:
Hydropower offsets the emissions of non-renewable energy sources (such as coal and natural gas), thus reducing our contribution to global climate change.
- Hydropower is the world’s most important source of renewable energy in the world.
- Hydropower is a consistent, reliable and renewable source of clean power.
- More than 150 countries around the world generate hydropower.
- Nearly 20% of the world’s electricity is produced by hydropower.
- Hydropower is the most important source of electricity in Canada.
- Over 60% of the electricity produced in Canada comes from the power of water.
- Canada is the world’s biggest producer of hydropower generating 350 TWh/year.
- Hydropower is one of the electricity sources that generate the fewest greenhouse gases, i.e. 60 times less than coal-fired power plants and 18 times less than natural gas power plants.