Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Carly Hansen, Mirko Musa, Colin Sasthav, Scott DeNeale
Summary: This paper explores the untapped potential for new energy production through non-powered dams in the United States, reviewing past assessments and identifying areas for improvement in methods and data used for estimating development potential. Suggestions for future research include considering emerging technologies, exploring co-development strategies, and incorporating socio-economic incentives and constraints. The study also examines recent retrofit projects at non-powered dams in the US, identifying patterns at successful and unsuccessful projects.
RENEWABLE & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REVIEWS
(2021)
Editorial Material
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Yadu Pokhrel, Amar Deep Tiwari
Summary: The booming hydropower dams in the Mekong River basin have caused hydrological alterations that disrupt aquatic ecosystems and local livelihoods. Urgent reconsideration of hydropower development is needed, and alternative operating strategies could help restore the natural hydrological regimes without affecting power generation.
NATURE SUSTAINABILITY
(2022)
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Cecilia Llamosas, Benjamin K. Sovacool
Summary: Transboundary hydropower dams, situated in shared international rivers or watersheds, have the potential to impact regional and global interests. Further research is needed to understand the specific benefits and costs of these projects across borders in order to promote fairness and sustainability.
RENEWABLE & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Kayla Garrett, Ryan A. McManamay, Jida Wang
Summary: Transitioning to renewable energy sources requires minimizing environmental impacts of new dam construction, while maximizing benefits of hydropower through upgrading existing infrastructure. This approach could potentially increase global hydropower capacity by up to 9%, offsetting biodiversity impacts and reducing construction and transmission costs.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Kayla P. Garrett, Ryan A. McManamay, Adam Witt
Summary: Many countries are focused on the construction of new dams to increase hydropower capacity, but fail to consider the potential energy that can be obtained from optimizing existing infrastructure. Harnessing environmental flows for energy could provide a significant increase in hydropower capacity in the US and globally.
RENEWABLE & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Gustavo Andrei Speckhann, Heidi Kreibich, Bruno Merz
Summary: This study presents the most comprehensive dam inventory for Germany to date, including detailed information on 530 dams. The majority of dams were built between 1950-2013, with 52% being single-purpose, 53% for flood control, and 25% for energy production.
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE DATA
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Andrej Predin, Matej Fike, Marko Pezdevsek, Gorazd Hren
Summary: This paper examines the energy loss caused by water spills from hydropower plants and presents a case study of the Sava River power plants to analyze the impact of overflow events on energy loss. It also proposes potential technical solutions for capturing these losses.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Kai Wan Yuen, Edward Park, Melda Hazrina, Muh Taufik, Putu Santikayasa, Edgardo Latrubesse, Janice Ser Huay Lee
Summary: This study developed a comprehensive database of dams in Indonesia, including three times more dams than reported in Indonesia's national database. The database provides information on the geographical coordinates, physical characteristics, and uses of each dam. The aim is to assist hydrological and socio-ecological research in Indonesia.
Review
Environmental Sciences
Akarath Soukhaphon, Ian G. Baird, Zeb S. Hogan
Summary: Hydropower dams in the Mekong River basin are negatively impacting surrounding areas, affecting fish migrations, river hydrology, and sediment transfers. This is leading to long-term economic and food security issues for communities living near the river.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Patrick Heneka, Markus Zinkhahn, Cornelia Schuetz, Roman B. Weichert
Summary: This study presents an intermediate approach to reliably determine attraction flows for technical fishways at small to medium-sized waterways, allowing them to connect to downstream rivers and resolve the issue of high discharge masking fishway attraction flows. By simplifying design criteria and equations, input data can be easily obtained, with validation results showing this method to be a useful alternative bridging the gap between simple guidelines and detailed investigations.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Peilei Fan, Myung Sik Cho, Zihan Lin, Zutao Ouyang, Jiaguo Qi, Jiquan Chen, Emilio F. Moran
Summary: Hydropower dams have significant impacts on renewable energy production, water resources, and economic development, especially in the Global South. This study found that a large portion of global GDP and population are located within 50 km of hydropower dams. The construction of these dams has different effects on nearby areas, with some regions experiencing increased GDP and urban land, while others have decreased GDP, urban land, population, and greenness. Large dams are associated with reduced GDP and greenness, while small and medium dams are linked to decreased population and urban land.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Review
Engineering, Chemical
Gaoan Zheng, Zeheng Gu, Weixin Xu, Bin Lu, Qihan Li, Yunfeng Tan, Chengyan Wang, Lin Li
Summary: This study thoroughly investigates the essential hydrodynamic properties of the gravitational surface vortex in low-head hydropower plants and identifies some significant scientific issues and future research directions. The turbulent Ekman layer analytical solution, vortex multi-scale modeling technology, high-precision measurement technology, and gas-liquid-solid three-phase vortex dynamics model are identified as the main research directions.
Article
Area Studies
Suzanne Ogden
Summary: China has established Yunnan Province as the gateway to Southeast Asia and the hub of transportation and energy-water resources through its cooperation in the Greater Mekong Subregion as part of the Belt and Road Initiative. Despite China's dominance in institutional development, technology expertise, and financial investment, Mekong countries still maintain their sovereignty and bargaining power. Successful cooperation is achieved through alignment of preferences. However, ongoing debates among China's stakeholders regarding developmental and environmental sustainability models challenge Beijing's dominance.
JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY CHINA
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Bolivar Paredes-Beltran, Alvaro Sordo-Ward, Luis Garrote
Summary: Dams and their reservoirs play a significant role in society and the environment, facilitating water resource management while potentially causing adverse impacts related to safety, ecology, and biodiversity. Studies suggest that climate change could exacerbate these impacts, underscoring the importance of continuous monitoring and research on dams.
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE DATA
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Shahryar K. Ahmad, Faisal Hossain, Gordon W. Holtgrieve, Tamlin Pavelsky, Stefano Galelli
Summary: A model called FUTURIST, trained using historical records and remote sensing data, predicts the impact of dams on downstream river temperatures. Results suggest future dams may potentially cool or warm downstream rivers.
