I'm a strong proponent of hydro anywhere it's available because it's a known good technology that bypasses many of the problems with other green tech.
Unfortunately it's as you say, it's all about trade-offs. The thing is, the amount of environmental damage that will be caused by enough solar infrastructure to provide a gigawatt of electricity at night in the middle of winter would dwarf the impact of one river being dammed.
In many provinces in canada, the entire population is having their electrical energy provided almost exclusively by hydroelectricity.
The effect of using hydroelectricity is that electricity rates become so low many people can use electric heat in winter, which as I've said many times is a core problem that would need to be solved if solar was to be used at scale.
By contrast, Ontario invested heavily in wind and solar (among other missteps), and rates skyrocketed so many people moved to fossil fuels for heat because if you don't then your electricity bill starts to look like a mortgage payment in January. You might imagine that such consequences disproportionately hurt the poor who can't just install a new oil or natural gas furnace.
In many provinces in canada, the entire population is having their electrical energy provided almost exclusively by hydroelectricity.
The effect of using hydroelectricity is that electricity rates become so low many people can use electric heat in winter, which as I've said many times is a core problem that would need to be solved if solar was to be used at scale.
By contrast, Ontario invested heavily in wind and solar (among other missteps), and rates skyrocketed so many people moved to fossil fuels for heat because if you don't then your electricity bill starts to look like a mortgage payment in January. You might imagine that such consequences disproportionately hurt the poor who can't just install a new oil or natural gas furnace.
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