Hydroelectricity, a future or a waste?

Could you imagine if electricity itself had never been invented? Think about it, if electricity hadn’t been created, then the world would be all the way different. I wouldn’t be writing this essay right now. Over the centuries, people have been trying to figure out more and more ways to create more and alternative ways of electricity. Some may be beneficial to the human race while some may harm nature and the ecosystem. Hydroelectricity is an alternative and renewable type of electricity which involves the help of water. Basically, the water is transported by pipes and so it helps turbines or the machines that are involved in the production of hydroelectricity which makes them turn and then produce the electricity that is generated to thousands of people living around. Many countries that have dams or rivers have already implemented this type of renewable and alternative electricity so that they can make use of the dams and rivers or lakes around them.

Hydroelectricity is a very cheap and reliable source of alternative energy which only costs about US$0.05/kWh. The price of hydroelectricity is way cheaper than the usual electricity we use or about US$0.15/kWh. The cost of hydroelectricity still remains to be the cheapest source of electricity up until now. Although this may be true, hydroelectricity has a lot of bad things that may be involved that fall behind it. It is true that hydroelectricity is cheap and a reliable source of energy, however, the use of the water being taken away may cause wildlife such as fish to be taken away as well. Then again, we can’t rely too much towards it, because natural disasters or events can happen such as droughts. With that also being a problem, people who live near dams or rivers will only be able to be the ones that can access the electricity. People who live far from the rivers or lakes and dams will not be able to receive the hydroelectricity for obvious reasons.

Now that we understand what hydroelectricity is, we can talk about the pros and cons about the topic. Some of the pros and cons had already been mentioned in the previous paragraph however I would like to dive in it deeper. The pros of hydroelectricity would be that we are able to have a good and reliable source of electricity in a very cheap way. In fact, hydroelectricity is the cheapest source of electricity there is. Many people see this as a good thing and that is the reason why a lot of people move to places near dams, rivers or lakes. Though this sounds like a good thing, many people don't get the benefit of living near dams, rivers or lakes and therefore, not much people get to have the use of hydroelectricity. Now, if we look at it from a different perspective, we can see that yes, not many people do not have the benefits of hydroelectricity but that is also a good thing. Hydroelectricity could destroy the wildlife and animals that live in the water. Natural disasters such as droughts could also affect the people who use hydroelectricity in a negative way because it would dry up the water and people would not be able to use it.

Now that we understand what hydroelectricity is, how it affects nature and its overall pros and cons, we can sum up everything that has been said so far in regards to that hydroelectricity is a good and reliable cheap source of energy. Hydroelectricity is and will remain to be the world’s cheapest source of electricity. Although this may be true, the fact that not as many people get the benefit of being able to receive a source of electricity in such a way is a good thing and the particular reason to this circumstance is that then it would destroy the environment and kill the wildlife living in the water or that is dependent on water.

Bibliography

Hydropower Explained. (2021, April 8). p. 1. https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/hydropower/

(How Hydropower Works). p. 1. https://www.energy.gov/eere/water/how-hydropower-works

(Directors, 2018). p. 1. https://www.hydroreview.com/business-finance/hydropower-remains-the-lowest-cost-source-of-electricity-globally/#gref

Advantages and Disadvantages of Hydroelectricity Energy (Giaquinto). p. 1. https://www.greengeeks.com/blog/hydroelectric-energy/