Environmental aspects for the site selection of hydro power plant

Introduction

• Hydro-power is the power obtained from the energy of falling water where as hydro-electric power plant is the power plant utilizing the potential energy of water at a high level for the generation of electrical energy.
• A hydro-electric power station is used to supply electrical energy to consumers where water resources are available.This power plant however cannot be located everywhere.
• Firstly,there must be ample quantity of water available at sufficient head and secondly a suitable site must be available.
• while selecting a suitable site for a hydro-electric power plant,  if a good system of natural storage of water lakes at high altitudes and with large catchment areas can be located then the plant will be comparatively economical.

Effect on environment

• The use of hydro-power prevents the burning of billion barrels of oil or tons of coal and for this reason it cannot be considered a polluting energy, but this does not mean that use of hydro-power is free of problems that affecting the environment.

• The advantages of hydro-power are convincing but there are some drawbacks that are causing people to reconsider it overall benefit.

Environmental aspects

• Since the most feasible sites for this type of power plant are in hilly or mountain areas , the faults that often created the ‘topography pose’ a great danger to the dams and therefore the land below them for thousands of years after they have become useless for generating power.
• When a new dam’s reservoir floods the countryside, people who live in the area have to move in order to make way for the project. This is very stressful and often controversial, especially if a community has maintained a particular way of life on the same land for generations.
• The construction of a dam not only affects the people nearby, it affects a river’s natural functions by diverting water for power. This particularly may not seem like a significant problem until animal’s species are studied.

• Birds that are migrated to a specific riverside environment for generations no longer have enough insects on which they depend when water level drops.

• Native populations of fish may decrease or disappear altogether due to temperature changes caused by dams.

• New access roads to hydro-electric dams can with resulting losses of biodiversity and other environmental problems.

• We must encourage the development of low polluting energy sources, but this development must be protective of our natural environment. Projects must be sited and operated in responsible manner so that they will not affect the ability of communities to enjoy their hometown rivers and also healthy fish and wildlife populations.