About this episode

This episode discusses the evolution of hydropower, focusing on the shift from large dams to more environmentally friendly alternatives.

Hydropower comes in many forms, though most people still associate it with big dams. In the heyday of dam building, projects like Grand Coulee Dam and Boulder Dam in the American West were monumental efforts. But back then, we didn't fully understand how dams could disrupt ecosystems; now we do, and as a result, large dams have fallen out of favor in many places. And where the U.S. was once the leader in large scale hydropower, we're now removing more dams than we're building. Today, the biggest obstacles to constructing new hydroelectric projects in the U.S. aren't just environmental—they're economic and regulatory. But hydropower is a very site-specific technology—and there are plenty of ways to make it more environmentally friendly. People: Philip Wight , Associate Professor of History and Arctic & Northern Studies, University of Alaska Fairbanks; Clay Koplin, CEO Cordova Electric Cooperative Places: Panama Canal; Cordova, Alaska Technology/Concepts: hydropower, hydroelectric power plant, dams of the American West, run-of-river hydroelectric, inflatable dam Closing the Gap is hosted by Gwen Holdmann and edited by Jennifer Pemberton. This episode was produced by Tony Williams…

People in this episode

Host: Gwen Holdmann

Guests: Philip Wight, Clay Koplin

Topics covered

• hydropower
• environmental impact
• economic challenges
• regulatory issues
• small-scale hydropower
• dams

Keywords

• hydropower
• hydroelectric power plant
• dams
• environmental impact
• economic challenges
• regulatory issues
• run-of-river hydroelectric
• inflatable dam

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Alaska Fairbanks, Cordova Electric Cooperative

Places: Panama Canal, Cordova, Alaska

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