Roelof Dirk Schuiling and colleagues at Utrecht University in The Netherlands have discussed the benefits of one of the most ambitious engineering projects ever – damming the Red Sea.
Published in the Inderscience publication International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, the project could help solve the growing energy demands in the Middle East and alleviate tensions surrounding oil supplies.
Hydroelectric technology
Currently, hydroelectric technology can shift and shape water on a large enough scale to control lakes and reservoirs. In the near future, however, it might be possible to build dams large enough to separate a body of water as large as the Red Sea.
A similar macro-scale engineering project is already planned for the Strait of Hormuz at the entrance of the Persian Gulf. This seawater barrier will exploit the evaporative cycle and influx of seawater to generate vast quantities of electricity.
Geochemical engineer Schuiling suggests that a dam could be used to stem the inflow of seawater into the highly evaporative Red Sea with the potential of generating 50 gigawatts of power.
"Such a project will dramatically affect the region’s economy, political situation and ecology, and their effects may be felt well beyond the physical and political limits of the project," said Schuiling.
Schuiling and his colleagues point out that the cost and timescales involved in creating such a hydroelectric facility are way beyond normal economical considerations. It is inevitable that such a macro-engineering project will cause massive devastation of existing ecologies. However, it will also provide enormous reductions in greenhouse gas emissions as well as offering a viable, sustainable alternative to fossil fuels for future generations.
"If the countries around the Red Sea decide in favour of the macro-project, it is their responsibility to limit the negative consequences as much as possible," they conclude.
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Date Published: December 06, 2007
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