1. 1
The Carbon Footprint of Hydroelectric Power
Generation and the Environmental Impact of
Hydrokinetic Energy
◂ Fundamentals of Energy Systems
Mohammad Assareh, Mohammad Sajid Akhter, Rafael Barcenas,
Hamid Tari, Amarachukwu Emekwuru
Memorial University of Newfoundland
March 2023
3. Is the energy that comes from water really clean?
What is Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)?
Structure of this presentation
Hydro power
Emissions associated with hydropower
energy production
Construction
Reservoir creation
Operation and maintenance
Decommissioning
Environmental issues associated with
hydrokinetic energy generation
Affecting marine life
Water level and tidal
disruption
Noise pollution
GHG emission
5. • What construction phase embodies?
• Construction phase can emit around 92.4 gram per
kilowatt hour electricity
• Transportation of materials accounts for 7% of
emissions related to the construction phase
• Improving the production method of raw materials
can significantly affect the cleanliness of this phase
7. THE CARBON FOOTPRINT OF HYDROELECTRIC POWER GENERATION
(OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE)
Major Factors:
• Eenergy used by operational equipment.
• Repair of dams.
• The replacement of electro-mechanical parts.
• The uprating as well as modernization of civil works and electromechanical equipment.
• Oil leakage from various electrical and mechanical equipment.
A more effective tools like EIO-LCA (i.e. An economic input-output life-cycle assessment)
technique is normally used to determine to quantify non-renewable (fossil) primary energy
use and various environmental impacts, i.e., GHG emissions, acidification, and so on, for the
studied system
Three canal-based, two dam-toe, and one major hydropower scheme have all been
investigated for life cycle energy consumption and life cycle GHG emissions in order to
prepare the O&M section of Carbon Footprint of HydroElectric Power Generation.
8. THE CARBON FOOTPRINT OF HYDROELECTRIC POWER GENERATION
(OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE) – FINAL OUTCOME
• The average estimates for energy consumption and greenhouse gas
emissions.
• Final data after the Study for canal-based and dam-toe projects.
• Interesting Fact : “The capacity of the powerhouse increases GHG
emissions decrease”.
• O&M stage contributes around +/- 50% of energy and GHG emissions
hence need for improvement in the quality of civil work and in E&M
equipments.
10. Decommissioning
• Kumar et al. (2011) claim that most of the information available is based on theoretical assumptions because,
so far, only a few dams have been dismantled worldwide.
13. Natural mechanisms and human activities for land change.
Reservoirs
25%
39%
24%
12%
Human Activities
Agriculture
Deforestation
Industries
Urbanization
14. GHG emissions main sources are from CO2 and CH4:
Reservoirs
547
26.4
273
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
gr
of
CO2
eq
per
kWh
GHG emission
Tropical & Subtropical Nordic Average GHG footprint in 100 years *
* 173 gr of CO2 and 2.95 gr of CH4
16. Definition
• Hydrokinetic energy refers to the process
of generating electricity from the kinetic
energy of moving water, including rivers,
tides, and waves.
• As a renewable energy source,
hydrokinetic energy has gained significant
interest in recent years as an alternative to
fossil fuels.
19. Conclusion
Hydropower is the most polluting type of renewable energy which is way greener than current
conventional energy production methods from fossil fuel
