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As someone who lives in a country (Brazil) which uses lots of hydro, I have a related question... How much space does it take, compared to a hydro plant of equ

by cesarb 11y ago

As someone who lives in a country (Brazil) which uses lots of hydro, I have a related question... How much space does it take, compared to a hydro plant of equivalent power? Hydro is also relatively clean, and is also known for taking massive amounts of space.

WildUtah 11y ago
Hydro is also relatively clean Hydro is the most environmentally destructive source of power. It ruins more natural habitat than strip mining coal, clearcutting forests, solar PV in virgin land, or any other kind of generation. And the river bottoms and canyons it destroys are among the most biodiverse habitats in the world before their destruction.
- efaref 11y ago
  It's also a massive producer of greenhouse gasses. https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn7046-hydroelectric-powers-dirty-secret-revealed/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn7046-hydroelectric-po...
- PhantomGremlin 11y ago
  It's all relative. From Wikipedia[1]: In 2013 the plant generated a record 98.6 TWh, supplying approximately 75% of the electricity consumed by Paraguay and 17% of that consumed by Brazil. I'm sure that most of the citizens of Paraguay and Brazil will gladly accept this inexpensive hydro power, even at the loss of a few flooded canyons. It's nice to sit in ivory towers and criticize. In the real world, many many people's lives are made much easier and more productive by harnessing this inexpensive hydro power. You want to solve some real problems in Brazil, figure out how to stop the destruction of the Amazon rain forest. That, there, is a world scale tragedy. Not so the beautiful Itaipu Dam, which I've toured, and which helps so many Brazilians. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itaipu_Dam https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itaipu_Dam
AtlasLion 11y ago
Morocco is not exactly rich in rivers.
- IkmoIkmo 11y ago
  True, but you'd be surprised. Morocco has more than two dozen hydro stations, 460MW of pumped storage and there's still some unused capacity for future hydro projects. Hydro obviously isn't the future of electricity for Morocco, indeed there aren't enough rivers, but it's playing a substantial role today as part of the renewable energy mix, e.g. numbers from a few years ago show hydro generated twice as much electricity as all solar/wind. http://www.iea.org/stats/WebGraphs/MOROCCO2.pdf http://www.iea.org/stats/WebGraphs/MOROCCO2.pdf Take the recent solar project, Noor I, that's launching within a month. Its production is about 370GWH per year, hydro currently does something close to 1900 GWH.

by cesarb 11y ago

WildUtah 11y ago

Hydro is also relatively clean Hydro is the most environmentally destructive source of power. It ruins more natural habitat than strip mining coal, clearcutting forests, solar PV in virgin land, or any other kind of generation. And the river bottoms and canyons it destroys are among the most biodiverse habitats in the world before their destruction.

efaref 11y ago
It's also a massive producer of greenhouse gasses. https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn7046-hydroelectric-powers-dirty-secret-revealed/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn7046-hydroelectric-po...
PhantomGremlin 11y ago
It's all relative. From Wikipedia[1]: In 2013 the plant generated a record 98.6 TWh, supplying approximately 75% of the electricity consumed by Paraguay and 17% of that consumed by Brazil. I'm sure that most of the citizens of Paraguay and Brazil will gladly accept this inexpensive hydro power, even at the loss of a few flooded canyons. It's nice to sit in ivory towers and criticize. In the real world, many many people's lives are made much easier and more productive by harnessing this inexpensive hydro power. You want to solve some real problems in Brazil, figure out how to stop the destruction of the Amazon rain forest. That, there, is a world scale tragedy. Not so the beautiful Itaipu Dam, which I've toured, and which helps so many Brazilians. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itaipu_Dam https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itaipu_Dam

AtlasLion 11y ago

Morocco is not exactly rich in rivers.

IkmoIkmo 11y ago
True, but you'd be surprised. Morocco has more than two dozen hydro stations, 460MW of pumped storage and there's still some unused capacity for future hydro projects. Hydro obviously isn't the future of electricity for Morocco, indeed there aren't enough rivers, but it's playing a substantial role today as part of the renewable energy mix, e.g. numbers from a few years ago show hydro generated twice as much electricity as all solar/wind. http://www.iea.org/stats/WebGraphs/MOROCCO2.pdf http://www.iea.org/stats/WebGraphs/MOROCCO2.pdf Take the recent solar project, Noor I, that's launching within a month. Its production is about 370GWH per year, hydro currently does something close to 1900 GWH.