Disadvantages of hydroelectric energy

The disadvantages of hydroelectric energy include: the high potential for extreme damage to the local ecosystem; the high cost of construction; the sheer size and scale of hydroelectric dams and the possibility of the potential devastation of a dam breaking.

All of the problems associated with large scale hydro are themselves potentially very large due to the scale of the construction. The environmental impact of a poorly built dam cannot be understated; hydroelectric energy also has one of the highest rates of death per kW (due to a few accidents where dams breaking have taken many lives.)

This does not mean that hydroelectric energy should be abandoned, just that when dams are required they should be built with the utmost care.

Environmental Impact

Where there was once a free flowing river, there is now a large lump of concrete and metal. The possible effects of this on the river life can be devastating.

Habitats become separated, fish cannot reach spawning grounds, animals which feed on fish downstream find their food source reduce and so on.

Size

Let's face it, something the size of the Hoover dam is not going to go unnoticed. These dams are very large, and I could understand objection to their construction on aesthetic grounds.

Cost

A common theme in renewable energy, dams are not cheap to build. Just think of the vast effort required to divert a river long enough to dam it, the amount of material required and extreme safety measures which must be put in place for the dam to be made safe. A lot of investment is required.

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Who am I?

My name is Michael, I'm a postgraduate student studying Environmental Technology, specialising in energy policy. I have an undergraduate degree in Physics.

I discovered my interest in energy during the second year of my Physics degree, in a module called "Environmental Physics". It was a very general course and covered topics which would be completely inappropriate here (dry adiabatic lapse rate, anyone?) but it was enough to make me want to learn more about the other aspects of energy and the environment, away from pure Physics.

This site, my postgraduate studies, and hopefully a career are due to that interest.

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Recommended Reading: Sustainable Energy - without the hot air

Amazon UK

Amazon US

If there is one book I would recommend to clarify the energy issues we face, it would be "Sustainable Energy - without the hot air" by David MacKay. A physics professor at the University of Cambridge (UK), MacKay deals with the topic entirely from an analytical point of view.

This book is almost constantly open on my desk for reference; no other book I've read has come close to the clarity of this one. There is no politics, no social consideration or economics, just the plain numbers behind how much we use and how much each source of energy can give us.

Numbers don't lie. Don't worry about being told to change your lifestyle - another book will do that, no doubt. This one will give you the tools you need to come to informed conclusions about energy, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. If you buy a single book on the topic, make it this one.

You can see the book's website at withouthotair.com.