[exschke]

as for hydropower, I'm just wondering about all the damage to the environment that damming the Mekhong River means, losing the natural balance, speed of the current, high and low water levels, not to mention that dams intercept the route of fish who regularly swim upstream seasonally or to breed. the Mekhong is said to have the second most versatile river ecosystem after the Amazon. and we just don't know enough about the implications of even small changes that we make. the Chinese have planned a few plants upstream, maybe have even completed some of them, there are serious concerns about the potential damage. (also because of the proposed river bed control, blowing up reefs and shallow banks to make way for bigger ships.) solar power might be less effective on the whole, but to me it seems that a solar power plant doesn't make such a mess on the whole (but I'm no expert at all, so I might get this wrong).
as for wind, up here in Chiang Mai in particular we haven't had any since November. I mean there have been a few days with a light breeze, but otherwise, absolutely no wind at all. maybe different on the top of the mountains though.