Hydroelectric Power Technology and its Effects on the Environment

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For centuries, scientists and energy experts from all over the world have been making efforts to look for alternative resources in order to solve human being’s energy crisis. Consequently, a great number of renewable energy source have been discovered, including solar power, nuclear power, wind-generated power and hydroelectric power. This essay aims at giving some basic knowledge on hydroelectric power technology with focuses on its impacts on environment. Firstly, a brief introduction of hydroelectricity will be given, followed by some discussions regarding its effects on environment, then a conclusion will be drawn based on the discussions and some recommendations for the future at the end.

Hydroelectricity is a renewable energy source that uses the energy of running water to generate electrical energy, which will not produce any green house gases. Gases like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide contributes towards green house gases, and they can be easily produced by human activities including burning fossil fuels for energy, land clearing and agriculture (Greenhouse gas emissions 2013). It is evident that, with the development of modern society, the amount of greenhouse gas that has been released into the atmosphere increased drastically. As a result, countries are seeking alternative energy such as hydroelectricity that is not only environmental friendly, but also more effective in generating electricity.

During 2006, According to the National Development and Reform Commission of China, 366 grams of coal would only produce 1 kWh of electricity. By comparison, Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydropower plant, located in China, has the capacity of producing 22,500 MW of power annually (Three Gorges Project 2010). I...

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...S. Energy Policy Analysis: A Conceptual Framework. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 2013.

Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation — SRREN. "IPCC SRREN: Full Report — SRREN." Accessed April 10, 2014. http://srren.ipcc-wg3.de/report/.

Union of Concerned Scientists. "Environmental Impacts of Hydroelectric Power." Accessed April 10, 2014. http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/our-energy-choices/renewable-energy/environmental-impacts-hydroelectric-power.html#references.

Victoria’s climate change website. "Greenhouse gas emissions." Accessed April 10, 2014. http://www.climatechange.vic.gov.au/greenhouse-gas-emissions.

Water Resources of the United States: U.S. Geological Survey. "Hydroelectric power. Advantages, from USGS Water-Science School." Accessed April 10, 2014. http://water.usgs.gov/edu/hydroadvantages.html.

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