Tradeoffs in energy: the Three Gorges Dam

The Three Gorges Dam (TGD) has been a source of controversy in the environmental world since the project’s inception. However, it effectively embodies some of the tradeoffs inherent in energy production. As part of a series on “China’s epic pollution crisis”, the New York Times has an article outlining the consequences and tension surrounding the TGD.

The problem of balancing economic growth and development with carbon mitigation is not new, but China is a somewhat unique example due to its sheer size:

China’s insatiable appetite for energy is mostly being met with a building spree of coal-fired power plants. Coal accounts for 67 percent of China’s energy supply. Just last year, China added 102 gigawatts of generating capacity, as much as the entire capacity of France.