The National Hydropower Association designated Monday, August 24, 2020, National Hydropower Day in the U.S. In honor of the occasion, POWER is highlighting a variety of things many people may not know about hydropower.
1. The First Electricity Generated in the U.S. by Hydropower Was in 1880
People have been using water power to perform work for more than 2,000 years. Some of the first water wheels were used to power mills that ground wheat into flour. Long before electricity generation was contemplated, water wheels were also used to saw wood and power a variety of other equipment used in textile and manufacturing plants.
