@ green | May-June , 2021

Hydroelectric dam in Perak

Malaysia constructing two more hydroelectric dams while the West is dismantling hydroelectric dams

BY JAMARI MOHTAR

THE ADVANTAGES of a hydroelectric dam are so many . It can generate power to the grid immediately , provide essential backup power during major electricity outages or disruptions , in addition to being a sustainable fuel source , along with several benefits such as flood control , irrigation and water supply .

But whenever a hydroelectric dam project is mooted – it doesn ’ t matter where – it will always be opposed by environmentalists and people living in the affected place where the dam is to be built .

We can understand the opposition to the dam by the people living in the affected area but the environmentalists , are they just too much ? Not necessarily .

Hydropower has been the leading source of renewable energy globally , accounting for up to 71 per cent as of 2016 . This capacity was built up in North America and Europe between 1920 and 1970 when thousands of dams were built .

The hydropower industry moved to build dams in the developing world and , since the 1970s , began to build even larger hydropower dams along the Mekong River Basin , the Amazon River Basin and the Congo River Basin .

However , starting in the late 1960s , big dams were no longer built in developed nations because the best sites for dams were already developed . The costs became too high , and most importantly , growing environmental and social concerns made the costs unacceptable .

Since then , hydropower ’ s contribution to the US ’ s electrical supply has steadily declined to 6.1 per cent of energy consumption , and other energy sources , such as nuclear , gas , coal , solar , and wind , began to replace it . Dam removal rather than construction has become the norm in North America and Europe .

According to a study in 2018 , many large-scale hydropower projects in Europe and the US were disastrous for the environment . The same problems are being repeated – disrupting river ecology , deforestation , losing aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity , releasing substantial greenhouse gases , displacing thousands of people , and altering people ’ s livelihoods , plus affecting the food systems , water quality , and agriculture near them .

In fact , the study on “ Sustainable hydropower in the 21st century ”, which was an inaugural article of the proceedings of the