BBC News: Global Boom in Hydropower Dams

Businesses depend on energy, but energy-related construction can disrupt businesses and communities, too. More than 3,500 hydropower dams – the world’s largest source of renewable energy – are being planned and constructed throughout the developing world. “Critics point to the inherent dangers of building too many dams, too fast and without sufficient consideration for the consequences,” reports BBC News. The World Bank stepped back from such investments after commissioning a 2000 report by the World Commission on Dams in 2000 that detailed the social and environmental damage caused by large dams, and China stepped up its investments. Critics suggest that China focuses on speed and cost savings with less interest in environmental or community protections. China accounts for more than half of worldwide hydropower growth and its companies account for half of the hydropower dam-building market worldwide. Chinese firms were not involved in the recent dam collapse in Laos. – YaleGlobal