Reducing greenhouse gas emissions of Amazon hydropower with strategic dam planning

Rafael M. Almeida; Qinru Shi; Jonathan M. Gomes-Selman; Xiaojian Wu; Yexiang Xue; Hector Angarita; Nathan Barros; Bruce R. Forsberg; Roosevelt García-Villacorta; Stephen K. Hamilton; John M. Melack; Mariana Montoya; Guillaume Perez; Suresh Sethi; Carla P. Gomes; Alexander S. Flecker

doi:10.1038/s41467-019-12179-5

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions of Amazon hydropower with strategic dam planning

Nature Communications

By: Rafael M. Almeida, Qinru Shi, Jonathan M. Gomes-Selman, Xiaojian Wu, Yexiang Xue, Hector Angarita, Nathan Barros, Bruce R. Forsberg, Roosevelt García-Villacorta, Stephen K. Hamilton, John M. Melack, Mariana Montoya, Guillaume Perez, Suresh Sethi, Carla P. Gomes, and Alexander S. Flecker

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12179-5

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Abstract

Hundreds of dams have been proposed throughout the Amazon basin, one of the world’s largest untapped hydropower frontiers. While hydropower is a potentially clean source of renewable energy, some projects produce high greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per unit electricity generated (carbon intensity). Here we show how carbon intensities of proposed Amazon upland dams (median = 39 kg CO₂eq MWh⁻¹, 100-year horizon) are often comparable with solar and wind energy, whereas some lowland dams (median = 133 kg CO₂eq MWh⁻¹) may exceed carbon intensities of fossil-fuel power plants. Based on 158 existing and 351 proposed dams, we present a multi-objective optimization framework showing that low-carbon expansion of Amazon hydropower relies on strategic planning, which is generally linked to placing dams in higher elevations and smaller streams. Ultimately, basin-scale dam planning that considers GHG emissions along with social and ecological externalities will be decisive for sustainable energy development where new hydropower is contemplated.

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Additional publication details
Publication type	Article
Publication Subtype	Journal Article
Title	Reducing greenhouse gas emissions of Amazon hydropower with strategic dam planning
Series title	Nature Communications
DOI	10.1038/s41467-019-12179-5
Volume	10
Year Published	2019
Language	English
Publisher	Nature
Contributing office(s)	Coop Res Unit Leetown
Description	4281, 9 p.
Country	Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru
Google Analytic Metrics	Metrics page