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“If we think of any major technological change, they always have costs and unintended consequences,” said Stefano Galelli, an associate professor of environmental engineering at Cornell University in the U.S. “The sooner we realize and address them, the more sustainable and equitable the energy transition will be. We have to do it right.”, Galelli and his colleagues from China and the U.S.
They found that roughly one-quarter of the CSPG’s power would need to be generated through hydropower to meet the increase in electricity demand and stay on target for full decarbonization by 2060. Under this scenario, hydropower would produce 172 gigawatts of power, 32 GW of which would have to come from 20 new dams.
The Mekong River flows through the meeting point between northern Thailand, Laos and Myanmar, known locally as the “golden triangle.” Image by Carolyn Cowan/Mongabay. “In many cases we can develop a portfolio of dams that provides comparable levels of energy generation, but with much lower environmental impact than the default of letting developers propose sites based strictly on criteria such a short-term economic return, proximity to electric grids, etc.,” Kondolf told Mongabay in an email.
Strategies to reduce electricity demand combined with increased investment in emerging energy technologies could curb the need for further hydropower expansion in the upper stretches of the pivotal rivers, they say, thereby reducing cascading downstream impacts.