Hydropower produces 16% of the world’s electricity and plays a strong role in satisfying the national energy needs of certain countries. Paraguay produces all of its electricity from hydropower, while exporting most of its excess supply to neighboring Brazil and Argentina. Albania, Bhutan and Lesotho also depend exclusively on hydroelectricity. Norway produces more than 98% of its electricity from hydropower, Brazil draws upon it for 85%, Iceland for 80%, Venezuela for 69%, Colombia for 65% and Canada for 61%. Austria (60%), Switzerland (56%) and New Zealand (53%) are other countries that generate the majority of their electricity from hydro sources.
Related Links: India Blackout Affects 600 Million People India Blackout Highlights Gap Between Power Supply and Demand Hindustan Construction Co. home page National Hydroelectric Power Corp. home page Construction World To bolster India’s northern power grid, Hindustan Construction Co. (HCC) is constructing the 240-MW Uri-II hydro development power project. The project is a run-of-the-river scheme for the National Hydroelectric Power Corp. (NHPC) on the Jhelum River in the Uri area of the Baramullah district in northern Kashmir. Generating electricity from four 60-MW turbines, Uri-II will not only make the state independent in terms of power but also lend power to
Related Links: Desalination Advocates Are Pinning Hopes on Carlsbad Project Poseidon Water's Huntington Beach Project Details on Huntington Beach Project Backers of a proposed 50 million-gallon-a day (mgd), $900-million desalination plant on the Pacific Coast in Huntington Beach, Calif., suffered a setback on Nov. 13 when the California Coastal Commission delayed a vote to approve the project.The project is the second major desalination plant being planned in the state by Poseidon Water, Boston. The first, in Carlsbad, is a 54 mgd plant that is currently under construction (ENR Oct. 21 p.32) and expected to be completed in 2015.The coastal commissioners
Photos Courtesy of Nalcor Energy Sitework at Canada's Muskrat Falls hydropower project got off the ground before investors were lined up to finance the project. Related Links: Red River Flood-Control Scheme Moves One Step Closer to Implementation Old Dams, New Power: Powerplant Owners Swap Turbines, Upgrade Powerhouses British Columbia's $6-Billion Hydropower Fix Will Address Capacity and Seismic Issues Big questions loom now that Nalcor Energy has named Astaldi Canada, a subsidiary of one of Italy's largest construction firms, as contractor for the $1-billion civil-works construction at the Muskrat Falls hydropower development on Canada's Lower Churchill River in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Related Links: Israel Firm Awarded Contract at Record-Size Desal Plant in California Tampa Bay is Ready to Test Whether Fixed Plant is Worth its Salt Many hopes are riding on the new $1-billion, 54-million-gallon-a-day seawater desalination plant and pipeline in Carlsbad, Calif. If successful, the project, made possible through one of the first public-private partnerships of its kind in the U.S., could serve as a model for other projects around the country.If the project falters, however, the growing momentum for similar U.S. seawater desalination projects could face a reversal, industry observers say."It is being watched closely right now," says Peter
Related Links: Blog from lead attorney representing environmental groups on the case Information on NACWA's motion to intervene in the case The U.S. District Court in eastern Louisiana has ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to determine within six months whether to set new limits on nitrogen and phosphorus pollution that is causing large algae blooms throughout the Mississippi River basin, the Gulf of Mexico and other waters in the U.S.A decision by the EPA to set numeric limits in states with tributaries that feed into the Mississippi River basin or the Gulf of Mexico that currently do not have
Photo by Luetta Callaway Lake Mead intake extension will connect to a newly finished, half-mile-long, $52-million stub tunnel. Southern Nevada Water Authority Expanded intake network is aimed at drawing more water at deeper levels from the shrinking lake. Drought-racked Las Vegas is undertaking an emergency project to keep water flowing as Lake Mead’s capacity dips below 40%.The Southern Nevada Water Authority has planned a $12-million extension to its 42-year-old raw-water Intake No. 1, which faces inoperability if the lake level falls 40 ft. Federal forecasters expect that to occur by May 2015 or sooner because of an abnormally dry winter.Lake
Photo by AP Wideworld Red worms appeared in a small town's water supply after flies slipped through sand filters. Related Links: Oklahoma City To Upgrade Its Water, Wastewater Networks Video: Don't Drink the Water Residents in Colcord, Okla., are still observing a water-use advisory as town officials flush out tiny red worms that made their way into the city's drinking-water supply last month.The town's approximately 800 residents and local businesses were told not to use tap water for cooking or drinking and, instead, use bottled water until state and local officials are certain the worm problem has been resolved.The red
Related Links: Price Tag for Bay Delta Water Plan Swells to $24.5 billion Bay Delta Conservation Plan Homepage The California Dept. of Water Resources has revised again the state's proposed plan to convey water from the northern part of the state to the southern part. The proposed changes, released on Aug. 15, would shrink by 50% the total permanent footprint of the project and shift more than 400 acres of permanent and temporary construction impacts from private to public lands.The $25-billion draft Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) for California's Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta has gone through a number of changes over
Built in 1972, the Inga I dam in the Democratic Republic of the Congo does not operate at capacity due to lack of maintenance. At this dam site and at a newer one, replacement of aging turbines has been on hold for a decade due to a lack of financing. Related Links: The World Bank-Africa region The Democratic Republic of the Congo has launched a new initiative to fast-track construction of the delayed $12-billion Inga III hydropower project on Africa's Congo River despite skepticism that the project may never be implemented.The World Bank, however, appears more supportive of a new