Reservoir greenhouse gas emissions

Naturally occurring lakes receive organic sediments which decay in an anaerobic environment
releasing methane and carbon dioxide. The methane released is approximately 8 times more
potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.[34]

As a man-made reservoir fills, existing plants are submerged and during the years it takes for this
matter to decay, will give off considerably more greenhouse gases than lakes do. A reservoir in a
narrow valley or canyon may cover relatively little vegetation, while one situated on a plain may
flood a great deal of vegetation. The site may be cleared of vegetation first or simply flooded.
Tropical flooding can produce far more greenhouse gases than in temperate regions.

The following table indicates reservoir emissions in milligrams per square meter per day for
different bodies of water.[35]

Location Carbon Dioxide Methane

Lakes 700 9

Temperate reservoirs 1500 20

Tropical reservoirs 3000 100

Hydroelectricity and climate change

Depending upon the area flooded versus power produced, a reservoir built for hydro-electricity
generation can either reduce or increase the net production of greenhouse gases when compared
to other sources of power.

A study for the National Institute for Research in the Amazon found that hydroelectric reservoirs
release a large pulse of carbon dioxide from decay of trees left standing in the reservoirs,
especially during the first decade after flooding.[36] This elevates the global warming impact of
the dams to levels much higher than would occur by generating the same power from fossil fuels.
[36]
According to the World Commission on Dams report (Dams And Development), when the
reservoir is relatively large and no prior clearing of forest in the flooded area was undertaken,
greenhouse gas emissions from the reservoir could be higher than those of a conventional oil-
fired thermal generation plant.[37] For instance, In 1990, the impoundment behind the Balbina
Dam in Brazil (inaugurated in 1987) had over 20 times the impact on global warming than would
generating the same power from fossil fuels, due to the large area flooded per unit of electricity
generated.[36]

The Tucuruí Dam in Brazil (completed in 1984) had only 0.4 times the impact on global
warming than would generating the same power from fossil fuels.[36]

A two-year study of carbon dioxide and methane releases in Canada concluded that while the
hydroelectric reservoirs there do emit greenhouse gases, it is on a much smaller scale than
thermal power plants of similar capacity.[38] Hydropower typically emits 35 to 70 times less
greenhouse gases per TWh of electricity than thermal power plants.[39]

A decrease in air pollution occurs when a dam is used in place of thermal power generation,
since electricity produced from hydroelectric generation does not give rise to any flue gas
emissions from fossil fuel combustion (including sulfur dioxide, nitric oxide and carbon
monoxide from coal).