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Hydroelectric Power

Hydroelectric power is the largest segment of the renewable energy market today. It is capable of the large scale production that power companies seek to harness when developing new power options. For example, the largest hydroelectric facility in the world is the three gorges dam, which has a projected peak output of 22500 megawatts.

The same large scale capacity that makes hydroelectric power so attractive to power companies also makes it difficult for the individual consumer to harness. A huge river is capable of producing a lot of power, but the scaling doesn’t work in reverse. It is much more difficult to harness the power of a small stream in a meaningful way. So while you can get tens of thousands of megawatts for community centers, it is unrealistic for homeowners to put reservoirs in their backyards for sustainable power.

The other major limiting factor for hydroelectric power is location feasibility. There are a limited number of large rivers on earth. These rivers are further limited by the geographic areas along the river’s course that are suitable for the creation of a reservoir. Lastly, human considerations must be taken into account. To build the Three Gorges Dam, China had to displace more than 3 million residents of the Yangtze River Valley. In a democratic society, this feat would be socially unpalatable.

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