10. Hydraulics

Hydropower is a highly efficient way of generating electricity and storing it, thanks to the STEP (station de transfert d'énergie par pompage). It's a priority energy source to use when you have the terrain to do so. This is what France has done in the past. In 1960, hydropower supplied 56% of the country's electricity. If this proportion has fallen to 14% in 2013, it's because there are no new sites available and French electricity consumption has risen sharply (from 65 TWh net in 1960 to 460 TWh in 2013). Hydroelectric power can generate considerable output, as in China with the Three Gorges Dam, which has an output of 18 GW.

Hydraulics cause ecological and hydrological disturbances, as well as other phenomena such as erosion and fog formation in certain regions. In hot climates, poorly designed hydraulic systems can amplify the spread of diseases such as malaria...