Hydropower’s Resurgence and the Controversy Around It

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Hydropower, a renewable energy source often overshadowed by excitement about wind and solar power, is enjoying something of a global resurgence.

Huge, controversial dam projects have recently made headlines in Brazil, Chile and Laos. Many developing countries, hungry for energy to supply their growing economies over the long term, are determined to keep building more modest-sized dams too.........

Small hydropower projects are especially vulnerable to climate change, according to Leandro Alves, who heads the energy division for the Inter-American Development Bank’s infrastructure and environment department, because they may not have enough reservoir storage capacity to compensate for decreased precipitation.

However, some dams may get more water, not less, as the climate changes. In a summary report on renewable energy released last week, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said that the effect of climate change would vary depending on a project’s location.

“For hydropower the overall impacts on the global potential is expected to be slightly positive,” the report states.

“However, results also indicate the possibility of substantial variations across regions and even within countries.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/16/business/global/16iht-green16.html?partner=rss&emc=rss