What are the pro’s and con’s of using hydroelectric power?
The pros are well known. Hydroelectric is a clean source of power. It generates no greenhouse gases and virtually no pollutants. Often the hydroelectric station is stuck out in the middle of nowhere where the minimal impact is healed by the environment. The point is that the environment can cope with a degree of trouble without any harm. If you exceed the limit then any extra pollution no matter how small will cause damage. Just as a bonus once you have built the station then the running costs are low. Another bonus is that the lake associated with a high dam can serve as a reservoir. The cons are not often mentioned. Constructing the station comes at a large cost. The monetary cost is such that the amortisation of the initial expense can make the electricity expensive even if there were no further cost. Note, A simple way to cost a project is to pretend to take out a loan with the repayment period being the expected life of the project. The amortisation is the repayments including int
