As I empty the last of last month’s big snowstorm from my rain barrels onto the garden, I notice the water comes out more and more slowly. It’s a reminder of why power production drops as supply in our big reservoirs declines. Some tricky tradeoffs here:
Hoover Dam from the Arizona side at sunset, Feb. 27, 2015, by John Fleck
The formula for this is:
Power Output = (Efficiency of turbine/generator) x (FLOW) x (HEAD) / 11,819
The variable being HEAD. Which is the difference in Lake Elevation – Tailrace Elevation.
dg