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I don't think any dams that produce meaningful amount of energy are going to be removed any time soon. These are the ones that used to power mills and like. So
by Ekaros 3y ago
I don't think any dams that produce meaningful amount of energy are going to be removed any time soon. These are the ones that used to power mills and like. So we are talking about way under 1MW in power each.
- Gibbon1 3y agoThey are removing all the old dams on the Klamath River. Company that ended up owning them considers them a white elephant because the revenue from power isn't enough to pay for needed refurbishment, operating costs, and insurance.
- sumtechguy 3y agoThis is the real reason most of these are removed. No one wants a 100+ year old dam that need several million dollars worth of work and the ROI is negative. So they remove them and everyone is happy. Most of the ones that are removed are well past their use by sticker date.
- bobthepanda 3y agoEven according to the owners, the Klamath River dams represent less than 2% of the power generated by that electric company. https://www.opb.org/article/2022/11/18/klamath-river-dam-removal-southern-oregon-dams-northern-california-drought/ https://www.opb.org/article/2022/11/18/klamath-river-dam-rem...
- Gibbon1 3y agoI've been meaning to compare the energy produced by those dams to a similar area of solar panels. Square miles of reservoir to similar square miles of solar farm. The Three Gorges Dam covers 419 sq miles. Produces 100 X 10^12 watt hours a year. Internet: 1,000 megawatt-hours per year requires, on average, 2.8 acres for the solar panels. Calc: 2.3 X 10^11 watt-hours per square mile. 100 X 10^12 wh / 2.3 X 10^11 wh/mile2 => 437 square miles. The Chinese done goofed.
- Ekaros 3y agoForgetting the slight thing that you might want to have electricity at night too...
- samus 3y agoGrid-level batteries and pumped hydro (which only requires a height differential, not a riverbed) have been a thing for quite a while now.
- Ekaros 3y agoSo where exactly do you find the hundreds of square miles of space to fit pumped hydro to match this scale? Or even tens square miles with thousand meter drop height? And if that was so easy and cheap, why isn't it already build? Or grid level batteries storing 140 GWh for even intra-day storage...
- samus 3y agoAdmittedly pumped hydro can't be scaled up that much. However, the few places that are suitable are very well appreciated and likely won't ever be dismantled like these dams. For grid-level batteries, absolute space efficiency is not critical, so they allow a wider range of battery types to be used. Prices are rushing down. They are being deployed on such a massive scale that many new gas powerplant projects get cancelled.
- Gibbon1 3y agoBedtime is 7:30 pm Comrade Ekaros.
- bobthepanda 3y agoI mean, Three Gorges opened in 2012, when solar panels were more expensive and leas efficient; and the Chinese are the primary reason why they are so cheap and efficient today.
- seanmcdirmid 3y ago