Ethic report for wind and solar and hydropower Essay - 1

Ethic report for wind and solar and hydropower - Essay Example an be produced in different scales namely; large hydro (more than 10megawatts), small hydro (upto10 megawatts), micro hydro (up to 100kw) and pico hydro (up to 5kw). One major advantage of hydroelectric power is that the operational cost of a hydroelectric plant is almost immune to the increase in the cost of fossils fuel and, more so, absolutely no imports are required for the same. Hydropower is a clean source of energy with absolutely no emissions of Carbon Dioxide, and, therefore, no pollution to the environment. Global warming is also minimized. The hydropower dams can be used as a habitat for some fish and wildlife. More so, the water can be used for irrigation purposes, and they also make the surrounding area around fertile (Scheer 45). Additionally, electricity can be produced at a constant rate and electricity generation can be stopped when it is not needed by closing sluice gates. Therefore, water can be stored for some time when there is less demand for electricity. Since dams can stay for a longer period of time it can be used to store water there is no high demand of power (Somma 56). Besides the advantages, there exist demerits of hydropower. The turbines used can have negative effect on the fish population as in some fish are killed as water go through the turbine. A dam therefore, changes wildlife and fish in a place as well as landscape. More so, hydropower has an impact on local population. Individuals who live in places that are flooded are forced to move out of their places, thus farms and businesses may be lost. People, at times, may be forced to move out their residential to give space for dam construction. Additionally, dams consume a lot of space for their construction and are usually constructed on marginalized land that is wooded. Therefore, it is necessary to cut down trees, which can be dangerous to our environment since the trees act as carbon dioxide sinks which may be harmful. This may be risky to an environment. Finally, on it is