AP Environmental Science / Unit 6: Energy Resources and Consumption
6.9 Hydroelectric Power
Notes
Moving water turns turbines.
- Dams, run-of-the-river, tidal.
- Benefits: no emissions in operation, reliable, flood control.
- Drawbacks: block fish migration, flood habitats, trap sediment, change downstream ecosystems.
Practice
A main ecological drawback of dams:
Rivers are changed.
Fish ladders help:
Migration routes.
Reservoirs behind dams can release methane because:
Anaerobic decay.
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