this post was submitted on 24 May 2024
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I don't really think it is especially in comparison to petrochemicals, but hydroelectric dams also isn't my favorite green energy. They displace too much matter while also reducing the wildlife of the project area for me to feel comfortable with it. I think perhaps there's further ways water could be used to make electricity that are underestimated or even unknown. I like "old-school" hydroelectrics, watermills. In my opinion this is an example really of individualistic green energy being a better environmental decision on the whole. Such will reduce the damage of our energy needs. Power to the people.
Hydro isn't only a source of energy, it's also the most efficient way to store energy. With solar and wind, peak usage hours don't match peak production hours, so we need storage capacity to be even able to use solar & wind. And dams are the absolute best we have for that storage purpose, in terms of cost, efficiency, and environmental impact
I think the best aspect about these dams is that they are already there. We don't need to do massive investments in our infrastructure to built giant batteries, since water power is already there and can be easily modified to act as storage additionally.
I agree it provides a more regular "stream" of energy. I think perhaps this focus on having regular unlimited energy at all times of night and day is a little unnecessary. People do sleep, and they should sleep during the night for maximum health, based on research. I find energy storage an important aspect of sustainability. We should have storage regardless of the system. I'm not against using it, all I said was it's not my favorite.
I just said in another comment that I think there's other ways to harness the power of water that we're unaware of. I think dams are an easy go to and the reality is that they are a nuisance. Hopefully we can make some breakthroughs. Especially now we've started making strides in wave power.
I get where you're coming from. It's a tandem tech and should stay in that consideration. It's a diversity of tactics in the fight against petrochems. That industry is too big for just one avenue, at least of the ones we currently have.