Diskussion:Vattenkraft

The Guardian skriver om hur mega-dammarna inte alltid är den effektivaste energiformen - både med avseende på el-produktion och välfärd - att investera i. De nämner tex. att elproduktionen vid Inga-dammarna i Kongo-floden till övervägande del kommit gruv- och industri-företag till del medan stora delar av Kongos befolkning fortfarande står utan elektricitet. Världsbanken gör däremot satsar åter på mega-dammar. Skribenten antyder att detta kan ha institutionella orsaker då mega-projekten innebär lägre kostnader för banken - " "ratio of preparation and supervision costs to total project size" is bigger for small projects than large, centralised schemes, and so bank managers are "disincentivised" from undertaking small projects".

"...Their primary beneficiaries are mining companies and aluminium smelters, while Africa's poor have been left high and dry.The Inga 1 and 2 dams on the Congo River are a case in point. After donors have spent billions of dollars on them, 85% of the electricity in the Democratic Republic of Congo is used by high-voltage consumers but less than 10% of the population has access to electricity. The communities displaced by the Inga and Kariba dams continue to fight for their compensation and economic rehabilitation after 50 years. Instead of offering a shortcut to prosperity, such projects have become an albatross on Africa's development. Large dams have also helped turn freshwater into the ecosystem most affected by species extinction."

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500 dammar planerade i Himalyaområdet med möjliga effekter på nedströms liggande jordbruk och brukande av vattnet. Kina dominerar men även Indien har storslagna damm-planer. Bangladesh fruktar att avledning av vatten i Indien ska orsaka vattenbrist och torka i egna jordbruksområden.

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"The report predicts that under the most likely scenario for the country's energy sector, dubbed the "New Normal", more than 1,500GW of energy capacity will be added through to 2030 driven by investment totalling $3.9tr. Annually, 88GW of new capacity will be added each year - equivalent to the total generating capacity of the UK.

Renewables are expected to continue to dominate the market, accompanied by an increased reliance on natural gas, meaning that emissions from the sector are expected to peak in 2027 as coal's share of the energy mix falls from 67 per cent in 2012 to 44 per cent in 2030.

However, in conclusions that should serve to further highlight the serious risk to the climate posed by Chinese coal-fired power plants the report predicts investment in new coal capacity will still continue to grow rapidly through to 2022 as 38GW of new capacity is added each year, equivalent to three large coal plants a month." - http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/aug/27/china-power-emissions-peak-2027

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"The government is now engaged in a new expansion of dams in great staircases, reservoir upon reservoir — some 130 in all across China’s Southwest. By 2020, China aims to generate 120,000 megawatts of renewable energy, most of it from hydroelectric power. The government declares that such dams are safe, avoid pollution, address future climate change, control floods and droughts, and enhance human life.

These assertions are largely untrue. Instead, China’s mega-dams block the flow of rivers, increase the chances of earthquakes, destroy precious environments and shatter the lives of millions of people. Rather than benefiting populations with non-polluting power, China’s dam builders are making a Faustian bargain with nature, selling their country’s soul in their drive for economic growth." - http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/nov/04/china-dam-hydropower-boom-rivers