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Potential Solar Replacement of Hydroelectricity to Reopen Rivers: Maine as a Case Example
Author(s) -
Sharma Shailesh,
Waldman John
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
fisheries
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.725
H-Index - 79
eISSN - 1548-8446
pISSN - 0363-2415
DOI - 10.1002/fsh.10619
Subject(s) - hydroelectricity , hydropower , fish migration , environmental science , watershed , hydrology (agriculture) , dam removal , photovoltaic system , hydro power , electricity generation , fishery , fish <actinopterygii> , water resource management , ecology , engineering , geology , power (physics) , biology , paleontology , physics , geotechnical engineering , quantum mechanics , machine learning , sediment , computer science
Hydroelectricity provides 6% of U.S. electrical power needs, but hydro‐dams block migrations of both anadromous and catadromous fishes. Engineered fishways have been built to facilitate fish movements past dams, but many have performed poorly. Dam removal is an effective way of restoring dwindling migratory fish populations by allowing unrestricted pathways to their spawning areas and for the downstream migrations of post‐spawning adults and juveniles. However, hydro‐dam removals result in a loss of electricity production. For the replacement of energy foregone from a dam removal, various alternative energy installations are now feasible. Here, we present a one‐to‐one conceptual replacement of hydropower with photovoltaic (PV) outputs for large and small river systems in Maine. We estimate that the equivalent land area needed to replace 14 hydro‐dams with PV panels in the Kennebec River watershed—producing an annual mean (±SE) of 1,101.7 ± 37.9 gigawatt‐hours—is 950.7 ± 32.8 ha, which is equivalent to 22% of the existing reservoir area. For the Mousam River, three hydro‐dams could be replaced with 0.38 ha of PV. Our results indicate that modest land areas are needed to replace hydroelectricity with PV from even heavily dammed rivers, providing a realistic and potentially highly effective conservation policy option for Maine and for elsewhere.