Dams and sustainable hydropower

December 2018: A recent study found that dams might cause more ecological and social harm than energy benefits from hydropower. Less intrusive technologies such as in-stream turbines could offer more sustainable options and respond faster to changing river flows due to climate change.

Information

A recent study found that dams might cause more ecological and social harm than energy benefits from hydropower. While North America and Europe are starting to remove a small number of older dams, many developing countries plan to build more than 3,700 additional dams over the next years. Many countries rely on dams as sources of energy for communities. The study suggests that dams represent an unsustainable method of energy generation that disrupts the natural ecology of rivers, damages forests, releases large amounts of greenhouse gas, displaces surrounding communities, and disrupts their food, water, and agricultural systems. This information comes at a time when changing rain and weather patterns require adjustments to dam operations and a time where scientists explore options to use dams as energy storage facilities.

Implications and opportunities

A move away from dams offers opportunities for less intrusive hydropower technologies to transform the market. Hydrokinetic energy conversion options such as instream turbine technologies could be an alternative to dams and produce energy for communities. It would maintain river ecologies and reduced social costs of power sourcing from waterbodies. Further, in-stream turbine technologies could offer a more flexible response to changing volumes and river flows due to climate change leading to milder winters and earlier spring runoffs.

Sources

Hydro Review. (2018). How Climate Change Will Affect Timing, Volume of River Flows and Hydropower. Retrieved from https://www.hydroworld.com/articles/2018/11/how-climate-change-will-affect-timing-volume-of-river-flows-and-hydropower.html

Emilio F. Moran, Maria Claudia Lopez, Nathan Moore, Norbert Müller, David W. Hyndman. (2018). Sustainable hydropower in the 21st century. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 201809426, 1-8. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1809426115