Should we build more large dams The actual costs of hydropower megaproject development
For a short paper (click the link above) this one packs a mighty wallop. The authors, Mr. Atif Asar, Mr. Bent Flyvbjerg, Mr. Alexander Budzier and Mr. Daniel Lunn all from Oxford University, demonstrate empirically what most of us had long suspected. That the economic benefits from dams, especially those of the larger variety, are often questionable.
This is especially relevant now as they point out there is a ‘..pipeline of new mega-dams being developed globally after a two- decade lull. The Belo Monte dam in Brazil, the Diamer-Bhasha in Pakistan, Jinsha river dams in China, Myitsone dam in Myanmar, or the Gilgel Gibe III dam in Ethiopia, all in various stages of development, are unprecedented in scale.’ Moreover China just announced a U$40bn fund to help put more infrastructure into its neighbors and no doubt a large part of that sum will end up helping pour concrete across waterways?
Did you know, BTW (I didn’t), ‘the ThreeGorges dam inChina ..will cost over USD26.45 billion over the next 10 years in environmental “mitigation efforts”‘? In terms of infrastructure only nuclear has such a persistently bad track record in terms of planned versus actual costs. There’s a great map on page-6 showing global cost over-runners that should make us especially skeptical of projects in India and South America.
Personally I’m not much of a greeny; unless the economics can do the talking. In this case they do; loud and clear.
Happy Sunday