alternatehistory.com

The Rampart Dam was a 1954 proposal for a large hydroelectric facility in central Alaska. It would have produced 5872 megawatts of electricity and created a lake the size of Lake Erie. It was ultimately not built for environmental and fiscal reasons, as conservatives didn't want to build such an expensive dam in the middle of nowhere. However, what if it had been built? What would the economic, climatic, and environmental repercussions have been? Might flooding have allowed for petroleum and gas production in Yukon Flats, an oil rich area that became protected land after the cancellation of Rampart? Could the water be used to flood other areas too to improve access to energy resources that would otherwise be stranded as uneconomical due to be located underneath mountains, seeing as drilling equipment could move more freely on the artificial reservoir?
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