THE DARK SIDE OF HYDROPOWER

Data Visualization, Mapping | 2018

The project maps the world’s largest hydropower stations and overlays this information with earth nightlight map to highlight the disparate conditions between resource extraction sites and places of consumption. Hydropower dams are mix blessings. While classified as a renewable and advertised as a sustainable energy source, hydro-energy has a dark side. Hydro dams displace communities, devastate the surrounding environment, interrupt natural sediment flows, inhibit fish migration, and have catastrophic effect on downstream neighbors. Moreover, much of the electricity produced is used to supply urban centers far-away from the source and financial gain from the production is rarely trickled down to the displaced impoverish communities, not unlike how the colonial metropolitan centers exploited resources from their colonies.

Data Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_conventional_hydroelectric_power_stations