کد مقاله کد نشریه سال انتشار مقاله انگلیسی نسخه تمام متن
7469000 1485109 2018 13 صفحه PDF دانلود رایگان
عنوان انگلیسی مقاله ISI
Shades of green energy: Geographies of small hydropower in Yunnan, China and the challenges of over-development
ترجمه فارسی عنوان
سایه های انرژی سبز: جغرافیایی از نیروی برق آبی کوچک در یوننان، چین و چالش های بیش از حد توسعه
موضوعات مرتبط
علوم زیستی و بیوفناوری علوم محیط زیست علوم زیست محیطی (عمومی)
چکیده انگلیسی
Small hydropower (SHP) has a global reputation as a 'green', low-carbon energy source that improves rural livelihoods and contributes to local economic development. In China, SHP has grown rapidly since the early 2000s, particularly in the water-rich provinces in the country's southwest. However, because SHP plants in China are privately-operated and approved by local governments, there is an incentive to construct large, multiple-cascade systems to generate as much power as possible. In many areas, this has led to over-development of SHP and associated negative environmental and social impacts. In this paper, we identify the factors that shape geographies of SHP over-development, what we refer to as 'shades' of green energy. We then analyze the direct and indirect impacts of over-development. We draw on interviews and electricity generation data from six prefectures in Yunnan province, one of the world's largest hydropower producing regions. We find that prefectures that operate in a semi-autonomous way in electricity management and industrial planning are most prone to over-develop SHP, since they depend on hydropower revenues from electricity generation and local energy-intensive industries. We also find that over-development of SHP causes streamflow reductions and unstable electricity generation, and in some areas, drives an increase in environmentally-destructive mineral processing and reduces irrigation water access. These findings suggest a need for coordinated river basin planning on small watersheds and a reassessment of the role of SHP in local economic development.
ناشر
Database: Elsevier - ScienceDirect (ساینس دایرکت)
Journal: Global Environmental Change - Volume 49, March 2018, Pages 116-128
نویسندگان
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