[erAck]

They did not include any numbers on wind, solar, hydro, tide, ... renewable energy; limiting the comparison to "the dominant" energy sources what they call "all major energy sources" shows how narrow the researchers' plate is.

World hydro power generation has already a greater percentage than nuclear fission, not in the U.S. though.. Add other renewable resources and all renewable surpass gas. Oil plays almost no role in energy generation. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_generation#Methods...

[mpweiher]

Doesn't change the picture. Hydro is surprisingly dangerous, in fact the single largest disaster involving an energy source was a dam that burst in China, killing 171,000 people.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banqiao_Dam

Overview :

   Energy Source               Mortality Rate (deaths/trillionkWhr)

   Coal – global average         100,000    (41% global electricity)

   Coal – China                  170,000   (75% China’s electricity)

   Coal – U.S.                    10,000    (32% U.S. electricity)

   Oil                            36,000    (33% of energy, 8% of electricity)

   Natural Gas                     4,000    (22% global electricity)

   Biofuel/Biomass                24,000    (21% global energy)

   Solar (rooftop)                   440    (< 1% global electricity)

   Wind                              150    (2% global electricity)

   Hydro – global average          1,400    (16% global electricity)

   Hydro – U.S.                        5    (6% U.S. electricity)

   Nuclear – global average           90    (11%  global electricity w/Chern&Fukush)

   Nuclear – U.S.                      0.1    (19% U.S. electricity)

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2012/06/10/energys-d...

[kartan]

"a project to control flooding and provide electrical power generation."

Damns are build to control flooding like the Banqiao Dam, to have reserves of water and to generate energy.

If you are going to build a dam anyway, why do not use it to produce energy?