Energy · 1878

Hydroelectric power

Falling water turns a turbine that turns a dynamo.

William Armstrong lit Cragside in England with water-driven electricity in 1878, and the Vulcan Street Plant in Appleton, Wisconsin, supplied customers from 1882. Hydropower is still the largest renewable source of electricity, about 15% of the world total.

See it in the living tree Wikipedia

Arcs above join it to what it stood on, arcs below to what it led to. The bar places this stretch on the tree's whole timeline.

What it built on 2

Self-excited dynamo 1866
Water turbine 1827

What it led to 2

Niagara Falls power plant 1895
Pumped-storage hydro 1907

Related measurements

The dashed line marks when it first worked.

World electricity generation Latest: 31.8k TWh (2025) Source: Our World in Data

Share of electricity from low-carbon sources Latest: 42.6 % (2025) Source: Our World in Data

World energy per person by source since 1800 Latest: 20.1k kWh per person (2025) Source: Our World in Data