Small hydro plants could have benefits

Five of the most promising innovative energy sources are: solar – renewable energy from the sun; turbine – energy power from the wind; biomass – energy from plants and biological materials; geothermal – energy from the earth’s molten core; and tidal – power from tidal currents and wave motion.

US President Barack Obama dismissed oil as “the fuel of the past”, instead hyping renewable alternative-energy industry policies, stressing the need to develop every possible source of energy, not just oil and gas, which combine to help eliminate the use and abuse of fossil fuel pollution. Lessons to be learned from the flood debacle include the importance of providing investment in new infrastructure planning, and emphasising cooperation and coordination between government, communities, agencies, industry and consumers. Increasing public awareness to protect the planet’s surviving energy resources requires competent use of farms and forests, and water management in an eco-friendly effort to bring back natural order.

Water covers 70 per cent of the Earth’s surface, and this simple element is vital to plants, animals and humans alike. Water can be harnessed to generate hydro-electric alternative energy for entire communities. Since the process produces no direct waste, it is one of the cleanest and greenest ways to generate electricity, and small hydro-power plants can generate up to 10 megawatts – worthy of consideration by open-minded strategy planners to power flood control and irrigation systems while decreasing the effects of pollution.

Charles Frederickson

Bangkok