2 answers
2 answers
Updated
Tim’s Answer
With a well engineered dam, there are not many dangers about using electricity generated with water power. It is non-polluting, won’t cause global warming. Depending on the amount of power you need to generate, you may not even need a dam.
Dams do present some potential problems. The biggest would be failure. If the dam breaks. The stored water will wash downstream, with loss of life likely. The other problem with dams is that the trap silt, and eventually the reservoir will contain less and less water.
If there are migrating fish in the stream, fish ladders will need to be installed.
Also, there will necessarily need to be a restriction in the amount of water flowing downstream. This creates an issue in dry regions, where downstream users of the river may see a huge negative impact if they can’t get clean drinking water, or water for crop irrigation.
If your electricity needs aren’t overwhelming, as I mentioned earlier, you may not need a dam. With a moderate current, you could install a paddle system to power the generator. These are quite efficient, and can easily be built with none of the issues that are inherent with dams.
Dams do present some potential problems. The biggest would be failure. If the dam breaks. The stored water will wash downstream, with loss of life likely. The other problem with dams is that the trap silt, and eventually the reservoir will contain less and less water.
If there are migrating fish in the stream, fish ladders will need to be installed.
Also, there will necessarily need to be a restriction in the amount of water flowing downstream. This creates an issue in dry regions, where downstream users of the river may see a huge negative impact if they can’t get clean drinking water, or water for crop irrigation.
If your electricity needs aren’t overwhelming, as I mentioned earlier, you may not need a dam. With a moderate current, you could install a paddle system to power the generator. These are quite efficient, and can easily be built with none of the issues that are inherent with dams.
Delete Comment
Flag Comment