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Chirol
Author

Chirol

Date

May 7th, 2008

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Hydroelectric Surprise

With all the talk of alternative energy and whether it is indeed a viable replacement for other conventional sources like coal and oil, one interesting case comes to mind. So readers, without looking in Google, Wikipedia or any other source, what country do you think generates about 60% of all its energy needs solely from hydroelectric power?

Click for the answer:

The answer: Switzerland.

Unfortunately, Switzerland is not a model which can be easily copied as the extensive hydroelectric power plants make use of melting glaciers and snow coming down the Alps providing a fantastic source of power. The rest of the country’s energy needs are made up for by nuclear power with about 5% from conventional sources. On top of that, Switzerland is one of the top recyclers in the world. It would seem that the country’s small, self-reliant and semi-isolationist mindset has made for a surprisingly resilient country, without even mentioning its defense policies.

Comments to this entry

Sam_S
May 7, 2008
1:04 pm
I was going to guess Canada, but decided to look at the answer first. Next question: Which countries have already developed the majority of their POTENTIAL hydro power? The answer might be surprising.
Curzon
May 7, 2008
1:56 pm
Of course, Switzerland is listed in the "Tags" and thus viewable on the front page... ;)
TS
May 7, 2008
4:13 pm
Unfortunately, most of their glaciers are shrinking fast. Photos of the big ones from 10 or 20 years ago compared with today are quite striking. Plenty of formerly glacier-side ski resorts and hotels are now staring uphill at the ice. I wonder what kind of math they've done to account for that in the medium/long-term.
Adrian
May 7, 2008
8:54 pm
Some communities have resorted to putting big blankets on their glaciers to prevent them from melting further.
Jay@Soob
May 8, 2008
12:15 am
Yes, but do the blankets have Pooh Bear on them?

I'd have guessed Canada as well. And in answer to Sam S's trivia I'll hang on to that guess.

Not sure I'd hang my energy hat on melting glaciers though.
bristlecone
May 8, 2008
2:07 am
My guess was New Zealand
Mantosh Prakash
May 8, 2008
4:01 am
But if you go by data Nepal is fulfilling all its demand only through hydel projects. They dont have any thermal plants. Really i was also guessing Canada. But its really surprised me.
If it's true that is the reason Switzeland is considered heaven on earth.
Trond Nilsen
May 8, 2008
4:45 am
Cool.

Here in New Zealand, we get about 70% of our power from hydro. Unfortunately, this leads to dependency on climate variation (as, for example, we're likely to suffer this winter). In addition, there's resistance to any increase in hydro as it can still have a significant environmental impact. That said, there's a lot of investment going now into wind and, interestingly, tidal power. Finally, there's currently strong governmental support here (they're bandying about goals like 90% renewable energy in ten years or so). Of course, with elections coming up, that may well change.

Norway has a really interesting approach to hydro, too, with lots of private ventures running at a really small scale; a couple of megawatts or less in locally owned and built setups. I'm not familiar with legislation there, but I presume they must have some setup that allows small producers to sell back to the grid. Either way, I find the local approach really interesting.
Dana Coe
May 8, 2008
5:05 am
I was thinking of Laos, believe it or not. They have vast hydroelectric capacity, but a lot of hard core greens in the international funds decry hydro.