According to a Kansas City Star article a Kansas dam project will lead to expanded production of green energy.
The Bowersock Mills &Power Co. in Lawrence has been producing power on the Kansas River since the 1870s. Initially the water’s energy turned leather belts that operated machinery in nearby businesses. Then starting in 1905,the company produced electricity,which it still does today,providing enough electricity to supply 1,800 homes.
Hydropower produces 7 percent of the country’s electricity,far surpassing other types of renewable energy. Wind and solar combined,for example,produced about 2.5 percent of the country’s electricity in 2009,according to the federal Energy Information Administration.
The National Hydropower Association trade group,in a recent report,predicted that by 2030,the amount of hydroelectric power in the U.S. could double — and not by building big dams.
“There’s little doubt hydro is going to grow in the United States,” said David Egger,a vice president at Black &Veatch,the large engineering firm based in Overland Park. “We’re counting on it at Black &Veatch,” which has been involved in 100 hydroelectric projects worldwide,a majority of them in the U.S. Read more here.
