This considered, the goal of your city should be fusion power! But you need plenty of power until you get there.

At 27MW, a dam is better than an incineration plant.

(Not considering cost of resource burned!)

At 201MW, a dam is better than an oil plant.

At 229MW, a dam is better than a coal plant.

At 257MW, a dam is better than a nuclear plant.

At 321MW, a dam is better than any wind plant.

At 427MW, a dam is better than a solar plant.

You should always keep in mind the cost effectiveness of your power grid when planning to expand upon it. Otherwise, build the damn thing! #Didyougetit? If your answers to these questions do not correspond to implenting your proposal, then I advise you consider other options.

Are there better power alternatives for your city right now?.

Will this cause a flood that drowns your citizens? #Sadface!.

Will the water find an easier route down past the dam?.

Will the dam and the resulting reservior of water it holds take up more space than your power alternatives?.

Will the currents sufficiently raise the banks, meet the dam's height, and feed water to the dam continuously?.

Upon finding a potential location, check the area with plans of dams using the dam tool and consider: Is there a waterfall on the map that you can exploit?.Can you place a hydroelectic dam as close to the map's edge as possible?.Is the river's inflow at the edge of the map?.Are there any deep rivers going between cliffs on this map?.When considering a hydroelectric dam, ask yourself:

In other words, the dam should not exceed the highest elevations of the upstream terrain! #Always! Rule of thumb: always place the height of the dam at an elevation lower than the terrain surrounding the upstream water. The real trick is placing your dam at a height and length so that water upstream does not find a path through terrain that is at a lower elevation than the height of the dam. Again, gravity! The farther the water falls, the more potential energy your dam will harness. The second thing to keep in mind is that length does not matter as much as height. Similarly, if the water surface is not sufficiently above the dam intake, then the dam is not yet operational. You're not going to get any pressure to draw the fluid into your mouth. It's somewhat like a straw that you place above the surface of the fluid in your glass. Until the water reaches about the same height of the dam, you will not produce any hydroelectricity. When it does meet and the water on the other side of the dam is near the base? #Cha-ching!

When the water has no where to go but through the dam? The water will only flow through the dam if its surface meets very near the height of the dam. The water will flow to the most accessible low point. A fundamental characteristic of water in the game is its tendeny to flow downward due to gravity.

Cities skylines best map for dam