Hydraulic Energy in France

[Michadu083]

Hi everybody,

I discovered this forum and I just signed up for it.
So I'm new here.

Here, I would like to ask you a question concerning Hydraulic energy.
I hope it has never been asked otherwise I risk being yelled at ^^

When we talk about hydroelectricity which therefore originates from hydroelectric power, what does it really include in it?
I mean when we talk about the electricity supplied by hydraulic power, are we only talking about the energy produced with a dam?
Or it also includes tidal power, tidal turbines. . .

For example, here: https://www.econologie.info/share/partag ... 6LwWJs.pdf

we can read that the electricity produced in France in 2006 comes at 8% from hydraulics.
So is it electricity produced only through dams or something else too?

Basically to summarize, when we talk about hydraulic energy, we are talking about the energy produced thanks to what? with what ?

I hope you understand what I mean ^^
I thank you in advance.

[Olivier22]

Hello,
a priori it is the energy obtained by flowing a watercourse or by emptying a reservoir (high mountain dams, tidal power plant of the Rance, mills along the water (I do not not sure if there are industrial scale))
Turbines also use a current of water, so they will undoubtedly be classified among the production of hydraulic energy.

[Michadu083]

So in fact, I'm not sure if I can sum it up like that then. . .

There are different ways to generate electricity using hydro power:

- Hydroelectric power station (there are various depending on the height of the waterfall)
- Tidal Power Plant
- Turbines
- Others?

However, it seems to me that a distinction is made between hydraulic energy (which originates from the sun) and tidal energy (which originates from the moon).
So can we speak of a tidal power station to produce electricity using hydraulic energy?

[highfly-addict]

Hello !

However, it seems to me that a distinction is made between hydraulic energy (which originates from the sun) and tidal energy (which originates from the moon).

To nitpick a bit, the tidal energy comes from a levy on the kinetic energy stored by the Earth-Moon couple.

So can we speak of a tidal power station to produce electricity using hydraulic energy?

Well no if we insist on the said distinction. But the principle is the same in practice: recovering potential energy from water.

[Emma]

This is an interesting question… Etymologically, hydroelectricity is simply electricity produced from water but technically can we use this term to speak about electricity resulting from a technique using the water in all its forms (river, sea, rain, etc.)? We rather think of hydraulic dams when we talk about hydroelectricity… Is there a more neutral term?
Especially since there are now very amazing techniques for producing aqueous electricity such as the energy of the salinity gradients (recovery of the energy produced between the difference in salinity between the sea and the rivers flowing into it).

[Christophe]

There are also forced pipes or falls.

I do not know the details of the distributions among hydroelectricity.

You saw in the .pdf: