Hydroelectric dams pros and cons

July 2008 -

The nationwide Hydropower Association offered the following testimony, in a June 6, 2007 statement delivered by Tim Culbertson, towards the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural sources Subcommittee on Water and energy hearing titled "influence of Climate Change on water-supply and Availability in the United States, " offered by www.hydro.org:

"Beyond the fact that it really is renewable, climate friendly, and domestic, hydropower offers some advantages over various other resource choices. Hydropower provides considerable generation, peaking capability, and ancillary services to fortify the reliability, stability, and strength of this nation’s transmission system…

Today, hydropower makes up about about 77per cent for the actual renewable electrical energy generation and 83% associated with nation’s renewable energy capability. As sturdy a resource as hydropower is today, there stays tremendous growth potential for a...

In the event that U.S. is intent on its reaction to the effects of climate modification, after that national assistance the development of this untapped potential is important."

Summer 6, 2007 -

The nationwide Rural Electrical Cooperative Association provided these testimony during June 12, 2008 United States House All-natural Resources Committee Subcommittee on Water and Power supervision hearing "Hydropower: Providing 75 percentage of The united states's Renewable Energy and Exploring Its Role as a Continued way to obtain wash, Renewable Energy for future years, " offered at resourcescommittee.house.gov:

"Some have actually needed the breaching of our national dams. This could be entirely counter to the long-standing federal hydropower commitment and policy. This is simply not the full time to create extra power difficulties with this country... We ought to invest in our national hydropower infrastructure and reverse the 'break-down' maintenance practice that includes put the national hydroelectric infrastructure in such a dire condition of disrepair.

NRECA [National remote Electrical Cooperative Association] urges Congress and future Administrations - Republican or Democrat - to take all steps necessary to maximize the dependability and effectiveness associated with present federal hydropower assets also to determine and pursue all possibilities to increase these facilities. These assets tend to be a vital part of the nationwide strategy for handling international weather modification and making certain customers have sufficient electrical energy."

Summer 12, 2008 -

American streams, a non-profit river conservation company, claimed listed here in its article "Hydropower Dams in a time of worldwide Warming, " offered by (accessed Oct. 13, 2009):

“Hydropower dams will continue to may play a role within our nation’s power portfolio. But we can't responsibly fulfill our nation’s twenty-first century energy requirements by damming new streams or by weakening environmental defenses designed to protect streams from harmful dam functions…

Low-power dams (some of which are physically very huge, despite insistence by designers that they're 'small') harm channels in the same methods as dams that produce even more energy. Multiple low-power dams scattered on numerous streams total up to major ecological effects that can be higher than that a single huge dam…

Dams disrupt flows, degrade water high quality, block the action of a river’s vital vitamins and sediment, destroy fish and wildlife habitat, impede migration of seafood alongside aquatic species, and get rid of leisure options. Reservoirs sluggish and broaden rivers, making them warmer. The environmental, financial, and societal impact of a dam and reservoir may extend really beyond the immediate area, impacting normal water, fun, fisheries, wildlife, and wastewater disposal.”

Oct. 13, 2009 -

Cheryl Nenn, MS, Great Lakes local Representative for the Waterkeeper Alliance, stated the next in an Apr. 23, 2009 article named "the reason why Hydropower is certainly not a Feasible choice for Estabrook Dam, " available at mkeriverkeeper.org:

"All dams disrupt stream moves, degrade water quality, impede migration of fish, damage seafood and wildlife habitat, and diminish or expel leisure options. Dams cause physical and chemical changes to the waterways, including altering movement regimes and sediment transport for miles beyond the specific dam site...

All of the viable hydropower websites in the US have been completely built; web sites being remaining provide marginal energy while placing great strain on aquatic resources.

Many hydropower dams certified by FERC create hardly any power; 80percent of dams produce lower than 50 MW of power, that is enough electricity to energy 50, 000 houses. Brand new hydropower services tend to be functionally obsolete because of increasing advances in energy savings, creation of much more promising green energy technologies including solar and wind energy, and bad environmental impacts of hydropower.
Also 'small' hydropower units cause serious environmental harm...

The expense to build brand new hydropower dams far outweigh the benefits. Creating new dams into the name of 'renewable energy' is certainly not justifiable."

Apr. 23, 2009 - Cheryl Nenn, MS

Global streams, a non-profit river conservation organization, reported these in its July 2008 fact sheet "Dammed Rivers, Damned everyday lives: the truth Against Large Dams, " availible at www.internationalrivers.org:

"Hundreds of thousands have forfeit land and homes towards the canals, roadways and other infrastructure involving dams. A lot more have lost usage of clean liquid, fish, grazing land as well as other resources...

60 % associated with the world’s major rivers have already been fragmented by dams and diversions. Big dam and diversion schemes have ended some of the world’s major rivers, like the Indus, the Nile while the Colorado, from attaining the sea. In the early 1900s, the Colorado River delta supported an abundant variety of egrets, jaguars as well as other wildlife. However, the greatly plumbed lake now only achieves the delta in rare flood years and wildlife populations have plummeted.The range native people who as soon as fished and farmed the delta in addition has declined...

Dams and diversions are the main reason the reason why one-third of the world’s freshwater fish types tend to be extinct, put at risk or susceptible. Many shellfish, amphibians, plant and bird types that depend on freshwater habitats are extinct or at risk...

Viable alternatives to dams do exist, and are frequently much more sustainable and less expensive."