Underutilization of hydropower

Underuse of hydroelectricity generation

Nature

By the beginning of the 1980s, 75% of hydropower resources in Europe and North America had been developed, while only a small proportion had been tapped in Oceania, Asia, and especially Africa. Hydropower generation is limited in the industrialized countries by a lack of suitable dam sites and competition for land and water use.

Background

Hydropower is in extensive use in parts of Canada (particularly Quebec), the northwestern USA (Idaho - 100%; Washington - 80%; Oregon - 76%), the Nordic countries (Norway has almost 100% hydropower), and mountainous regions of Asia, Australia and New Zealand and Europe. Roughly 14% of France's power is hydro, Spain's 19%, Italy's 21%, Japan's 11% and the former Soviet Union's 17%.

Counter-claim

Hydropower developments have substantial environmental impacts. Large storage schemes displace settlements; the upheaval and resettlement cause considerable social effects by modifying agricultural and transport patterns and affecting regional health. Small schemes may sometimes increase the incidence of waterborne diseases.