Environmental Impacts on Increased Hydorelectric Development at Existing Dams

Technical Report · Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1991

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5824819· OSTI ID:5824819

Railsback, S. F. ^[1]; Cada, G. F. ^[1]; Petrich, C. H. ^[1]; Sale, M. J. ^[1]; Shaakir-Ali, J. A. ^[1]; Watts, J. A. ^[1]; Webb, J. W. ^[1]

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1. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

This report has been prepared in support of the National Energy Strategy (NES) to examine the potential environmental effects of an initiative to enhance the development of hydropower at existing dams. This initiative is being considered by the US Department of Energy (DOE) as a way to increase energy resources that are domestic, renewable, and environmentally acceptable. The initiative would promote both the upgrading (increasing the capacity and energy production) of existing hydropower projects and retrofitting hydropower (constructing new projects) at existing dams. The hydropower development that would result from this proposed initiative would be in addition to the growth in hydropower production that is expected to occur without it. This report compares the environmental effects of the proposed hydropower initiative with the effects of producing the same amount of power using the energy sources that the additional hydropower would likely replace. The impacts of increased power production at existing dams are compared with impacts of two likely alternative electric power sources. Because the hydropower resulting from a proposed initiative is most likely to offset use of new or existing fossil-fueled generation and hydropower at new dams, the impacts of these other energy sources are compared with the impacts of the initiative.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 5824819
• Report Number(s): ORNL/TM--11673; ON: DE91013135
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

13 HYDRO ENERGY
130100 -- Hydro Energy-- Resources & Availability
130600* -- Hydro Energy-- Environmental Aspects
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290400 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Energy Resources
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AIR QUALITY
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
DAMS
ECOSYSTEMS
ELECTRIC POWER
ENERGY SOURCES
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
FISHES
HYDROELECTRIC POWER
MACHINERY
MORTALITY
POWER
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
RESOURCES
SURFACE WATERS
TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS
TURBINES
TURBOMACHINERY
VERTEBRATES
WATER RESERVOIRS
WATER RESOURCES