The article The Allure and Perils of Hydropower, published first in mid-Novemer in the magazine Undark, explores why some highly developed country have started efforts to take down hydroelectric dams and why countries like Albania insist on repeating the mistakes that are now costing fortunes to rectify.

The article clears up with many myths around hydropower such as ‘hydropower is a reliable, climate resilient source of energy’, is ‘carbon-neutral’ or ‘renewable’. It points out various alarming facts about this outdated technology, e.g. that damming rivers resulted in the loss of 80 percent of freshwater wildlife globally, that it displaced 80 million people around the world, that corruption is deeply enrooted and actual construction cost and time generally far exceeds what was projected. 

It also prominently features the Vjosa and efforts to save it. Enjoy!