Comment No 4 is just plain silly, but could be overcome by using the massive Marmaray immersion/suspension barge which is probably for sale now that the immersed rail tunnel project is completed. (BTW, a successfully completed Engineering Marvel, the concept of which was also initially ridiculed by nay sayers and lenders.)

There are very valid reasons for many governments (like Norway)putting dam projects on hold.

Happy Planet’s 2nd report, page 42, “Access to Energy and Appropriate Technology”

“Rather than relying exclusively on the construction of huge hydro-electric dams, however, it is becoming increasingly clear that small-to-medium scale projects may provide greater benefits, especially when they are owned and run locally. With relatively little initial investment required, they can quickly produce economic benefits, creating jobs, reducing economic dependency and ensuring a reliable and sustainable energy future. Cutting energy costs and reducing uncertainty frees up local and public resources to invest towards other development targets. There are also considerable social benefits as community ownership provides local people with more control over their day-to-day lives and engages them in decision-making processes. Shared ownership can enhance community cohesion, whilst providing a forum to promote further pro-environmental behavior. In short, as well as supplying power, locally owned renewable energy schemes can also empower marginalized communities.”

The implementation and impact of this technology on a river in a rural village in Africa, Mekong, South America, or a commercial/industrial complex like Rotterdam or New York is huge. A simple, low tech, yet tectonic mindset shift.

The inventor is deserving of, and gets my nomination for, a Nobel Prize.

In consideration of placing several barges in series is there any hydrodynamic effects that determine a minimum spacing between barges.

Presumably the unused surface area of the barge could also be utilized for solar energy production by placing a frame over the barge to support a PV platform?

But the claim that this can match the production capability of a dam is not valid simply because the kinetic energy of flowing water in rivers cannot match the immense potential energy created by walling up a river.

Definitely this has got much lesser ecological impact than dams which are no longer considered a good power source the world over.