Dams- cheap electricity with serious consequences

China is facing a terrible drought which some have attributed to the environmental impact of the Three Gorges Dam. The dam has negatively impacted downstream river water, transport & migration. The Three Gorges Dam is the biggest dam in the world, with the capacity of 18,200 MW. For more, go here.

What's interesting is that Venezuela, the country with the third biggest dam in the world- the Guri Dam- is also presently experiencing a severe drought. The drought has caused the water level of the dam to drop sharply; thus reducing the electricity output of the dam (here). The Guri Dam has a capacity of 10,000 MW. For your information, the second biggest dam in the world is the Itaipu Dam, located at the border of Brazil & Paraguay, with a capacity of 12,600 MW.

The Guri Dam is located in a rain-soaked tropical jungle, which few had expected to experience a severe drought. It seems that the dam had altered the rain pattern in the area- leading to the present drought. For more on this story, check out Bruce Krasting's post.

I am posting this rather shocking story because we may encounter a similar problem in Sarawak one day. Our Bakun Dam, with a capacity of 2,400 MW, may not cause havoc to the environment in the same magnitude as the Three GorgesDam or the Guri Dam but there are plans to build another seven new hydro dams at Pelagus, Baram, Lawas, Limbang areas and the further extension in the Bakun and Murum areas. The planned dam construction would increase the total generating capacity to 10,000 MW in a short span of 10 years. For more, go here.

In view of what has happened in the region/area nearby the Three Gorges Dam & the Guri Dam, I hope our Government would carry out a more thorough Environment Impact Assessment study before embarking on this ambitious dam building program.