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The All Energy Forum at last week's ANS Meeting in Washington D.C. was an eye-opener for many reasons, not the least being my underestimation of the amount of new hydroelectric power that could be installed in America without building a single new dam.
Almost 90% of America's low-carbon energy sources come from hydropower (21%) and nuclear power (67%), which together avoid almost a billion tons of CO2 emissions each year. If we are to achieve any of the low-carbon goals we have set out for 2030 and beyond, hydropower must increase significantly and nuclear has to maintain it's share of power, and even increase slightly by 2030.
David Zayas, Senior Manager at the National Hydropower Association (NHA), says that the goal is to double hydropower over the next few decades, adding 60 GW by 2030, producing an additional 300 billion kWhs of electricity each year.
The premise is that most dams in America don't produce power, and that adding that capability would account for the increase.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday November 25 2015, @10:31PM
Which was exactly my point.
This country has over 50000 "structurally deficient" bridges. Why would anyone think it's even remotely possible to safely modify the existing dam infrastructure to add major elements affecting their very structure? Each dam is unique and needs years of studying and careful upgrading to avoid life or commerce losses.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Wednesday November 25 2015, @10:48PM
As I pointed out elsewhere, in the vast majority of cases, you don't have to touch the original dam.
You plum around them.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Thursday November 26 2015, @02:05AM
> You plum around them.
"around" is the hard part.
- Above relies on the structure of the dam
- Under undermines the dam
- On the left or right side can threaten the river bank/cliff stability or the dam stability, get delayed by the land owners suing, typically will run into roads if not highways, rails and bridges, require an Environmental Impact Study because the blue frog lives there, require studies for he 100 and 1000-year floods...
Despite the changes in regulations, it's still probably faster to remove a most small dams and build new dams of about the same footprint than it is to figure out how to go around dams that have been there since the Great Depression. Its got to be assessed on a case-by-case basis, which each study probably taking half a dozen years.