U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for September 30: Hydroelectric Power

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

HYDROELECTRIC POWER

Profile America — Friday, September 30th.  On this date in 1882, the world's first hydroelectric power plant began operating on the Fox River in Appleton, Wisconsin.  Inspired by Thomas Edison, a man named H.F. Rogers built the facility, using a water wheel to power the lights in the Appleton Paper and Pulp Company, a nearby building, and his home. Soon, hydroelectric power plants were spurring industrial growth in many parts of the country.  Today, 412 hydroelectric power establishments across the U.S. produce about 6 percent of our electric power, but nearly half of the total from renewable resources. Around 33 percent of the more than 4 trillion kilowatt hours of electricity generated is from coal-fired plants, followed closely by those using natural gas, then nuclear power.  You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at www.census.gov.

Sources:  Kane's Famous First Facts, 3462
Fox River plant/accessed 6/17/2016:  http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/gilded/jb_gilded_hydro_1.html 
Power sources/accessed 6/17/2016:  http://www.eia.gov/energy_in_brief/article/renewable_electricity.cfm 
Electricity generation/accessed 6/17/2016:  http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/monthly/pdf/sec7_5.pdf 
Hydroelectric power establishments/NAICS 221111:  http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/BP/2014/00A1//naics~221111

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotion of the U.S. Census Bureau. Statistics and accounts drawn from cited non-Census sources are employed for illustrative or narrative purposes, and are not attested to by the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Audio" in the "Library" pull-down menu). 

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SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau