LexiconDexicon

Yeah there’s really no need for so many dams anymore, they were built to power hydroelectric stations that are no longer needed so this is a good thing.

“Why not just let nature take its course? Well, nature didn’t take its course when dams got put in. We can’t pretend this gigantic change in the landscape has not happened and we can’t just ignore the fact that invasive species are a big problem in the west and in California,” said Dave Meurer, director of community affairs for Resource Environmental Solutions, the company leading the restoration project. “Our goal is to give nature a head start.”

Which is another really good point, sadly there’s a lot of invasive plant species that were unknowingly brought over by Europeans mostly for ornamental purposes which have had a devastating effects on native plant life

Jul 31, 2023 at 12:51pmWeb
Show threadAqariusJul 31, 2023
How is hydro power no longer needed?
Show threadBombOmOmJul 31, 2023
No clue why he would think that. Hydro power is the best source of carbon-free power. It’s also the only reasonable way to do grid-scale storage we have. Unless we see a huge build-out in nuclear, hydro-power will be required for the next century.
Show threadcharliespiderJul 31, 2023

It’s also the only reasonable way to do grid-scale storage we have.

That’s not true. There’s TONS of viable alternatives. ex:

The insane potential of Pumped Storage Hydropower.

YouTube
Show threadBombOmOmJul 31, 2023

youtu.be/_-cOgrBIAuc

Pumped storage hydro is exactly what I was talking about when I said hydro is the only reasonable way to do grid-scale storage we have.

balkangreenenergynews.com/iron-air-batteries-are-…

Alternatives are being developed around the world, such as iron-air batteries

When your alternative is something that doesn’t exist yet, you are reinforcing my point that hydro is the only viable grid-scale storage tech we have right now.

The insane potential of Pumped Storage Hydropower.

YouTube
Show threadLexiconDexiconJul 31, 2023
I have no clue either as you misread what I wrote. MicroWave is correct, that was my meaning.
Show threadirkliJul 31, 2023

What’s not well known is that dams also have a limited life – they silt up. They produce most hydro power when new, which declines as silt fills the dam, raising the bottom/lowering head.

There’s a great book I have somewhere, is it CADILLAC DESERT? about the big 20th century push to “tame nature” and dam every river to make it “produce”. Total folly.

Show threadderangerJul 31, 2023
This is a insane take. We absolutely need hydro power right now. It was the leading source of electricity before coal. More dams, please.
Show threadcharliespiderJul 31, 2023
You can do hydropower without dams. Dams are incredibly destructive to ecosystems.
Show threadderangerJul 31, 2023

Do educate me.

It just seems like a huge waste of energy / resources to remove an existing dam than to remediate it somehow. I didn’t see any mention of if this generated power or how it’d be offset.

Not really an environmental win if this hydro power capacity was replaced by coal.