Methane Emissions from Large Dams as Renewable Energy Resources: A Developing Nation Perspective

Lima, I.B.T.; Ramos, Fernando M.; Bambace, L. A. W.; Rosa, Reinaldo R.

doi:10.1007/s11027-007-9086-5

Cited by 94 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Globally, there is a paucity of emission data -particularly from China and India, which are hosts to many large hydropower plants 15,16 . Although a few studies have quantified GHG emissions from reservoirs in China 17,18,[20][21][22]25 , none of them measured the releases occurring at turbines and spillways.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several low-cost, innovative technologies are available for efficient capture of CH 4 in deep reservoirs, both at the turbines and spillways and downstream 10,15 . Recovery of 1 Tg yr -1 of CH 4 could lead to generation of 1.76 GW of thermal electricity 10 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the basis of a theoretical model and bootstrap re-sampling, Lima et al estimated that China's large dams emit 2.69 Tg of CH 4 per year 15 , which is equivalent to an annual GHG emission of 67.25 Tg CO 2 e. Therefore, the reduction of GHG emissions by hydropower is approximately an order of magnitude higher than that could be emitted from the large dams when only CH 4 is considered. The net GHG reduction would be significantly lower if CO 2 emissions from the reservoirs were also accounted for.…”

Section: Climatic and Geographical Settings Of Reservoirsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Methane is 25 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than CO 2 over a 100-year period, and is responsible for over 20% of the change in the radiative forcing of the climate system 14 . It has been estimated that large dams release approximately 104 Tg CH 4 annually, or 20% of the total emissions from natural and anthropogenic sources 15 , although current estimations on GHG emissions from global hydroelectric reservoirs bear large uncertainties 13,16 .…”

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The urgency of assessing the greenhouse gas budgets of hydroelectric reservoirs in China

Cheng

2013

Nature Clim Change

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NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE | VOL 3 | AUGUST 2013 | www.nature.com/natureclimatechange C hina overtook the United States and became the world's largest electricity producer and consumer in 2011. The total electricity generation reached 4,722 TW h in 2011, with thermal power and hydropower contributing to 82.5% and 14.0% of the generated electricity, respectively 1 . Meanwhile, over 90% of the thermal electricity is generated by highly polluting coal-fired generation, which had a high grid emission factor of 804 g CO 2 equivalent (CO 2 e) per kW h in 2010 2 . Coal-fired plants are not only the largest stationary source emitters of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in China, but they also bring serious air pollution problems with releases of SO 2 , NO x and fine particles. Hydropower, with more than 200 GW of total installed capacity, accounts for approximately 6% of the total energy supply and over 80% of all electricity generated from renewable sources in China. Joining the global efforts to combat climate change, China is committed to increase the share of non-fossil fuels in its total energy mix to 15% by 2020. Accordingly, the production capacity of hydropower should increase by, on average, 10 to 15 GW yr −1 to help achieve this goal. Cascades of dams are currently being built, planned or proposed on the major river valleys in southwest China, where over two-thirds of the country's hydroelectric resources are located (Fig. 1). With physical water scarcity, and spatially and temporarily uneven distribution of water resources 3 , reservoir development is also a key component of China's recent heavy investment in water infrastructures to adapt to climate change, droughts and floods, and to improve food security 4 .Although hydropower is widely claimed to be a 'clean' energy source, critics have long warned of the environmental impact of large hydroelectric projects. In particular, research over the past two decades has revealed that the decay of organic matter (OM) in reservoirs could release significant amounts of CO 2 and CH 4 , and the emissions from tropical reservoirs characterized by high levels of OM and shallow depths are much higher compared with those in boreal and temperate regions [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] . Methane is 25 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than CO 2 over a 100-year period, and is responsible for over 20% of the change in the radiative forcing of the climate system 14 . It has been estimated that large dams release approximately 104 Tg CH 4 annually, or 20% of the total emissions from natural and anthropogenic sources 15 , although current estimations on GHG emissions from global hydroelectric reservoirs bear large uncertainties 13,16 .Carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide are the major GHGs that can be produced in reservoirs, but nitrous oxide emissions are The urgency of assessing the greenhouse gas budgets of hydroelectric reservoirs in China Yuanan Hu, Hefa Cheng* Already the largest generator of hydroelectricity, China is accelerating dam construction to increase ...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Climatic and Geographical Settings Of Reservoirsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The urgency of assessing the greenhouse gas budgets of hydroelectric reservoirs in China

Cheng

2013

Nature Clim Change

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“…o Carbon-intensive emissions from coal, biomass and other combusted fuels; and o Methane generation from large hydropower dams, a significant global contributor to global warming (Lima et al, 2008;International Rivers. 2007;South Asian Network, 2007).…”

Section: Co-benefits Assessed Through Linked Ecosystem Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developed-developing world partnerships for sustainable development (1): An ecosystem services perspective

Everard¹,

Longhurst²,

Pontin³

et al. 2017

Ecosystem Services

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Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Hydroelectric Dams in Tropical Forests

Fearnside¹

2016

Alternative Energy and Shale Gas Encyclopedia

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Methane Emissions from Large Dams as Renewable Energy Resources: A Developing Nation Perspective

Abstract: Emission mitigation, MDL, Methane recovery, Renewable energy, Reservoir, Spillway, Turbine,

Cited by 94 publications

References 29 publications

The urgency of assessing the greenhouse gas budgets of hydroelectric reservoirs in China

The urgency of assessing the greenhouse gas budgets of hydroelectric reservoirs in China

Developed-developing world partnerships for sustainable development (1): An ecosystem services perspective

Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Hydroelectric Dams in Tropical Forests

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