{"id":363502,"date":"2025-01-26T15:02:17","date_gmt":"2025-01-26T14:02:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=363502"},"modified":"2025-01-26T15:02:19","modified_gmt":"2025-01-26T14:02:19","slug":"when-green-isnt-clean-what-they-dont-tell-you-about-hydropower","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=363502","title":{"rendered":"When Green Isn\u2019t Clean\u2026 What They Don\u2019t Tell You About Hydropower"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Lars Schernikau (<\/strong>www.unpopular-truth.com\/blog<\/strong><\/a>)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we think of clean energy, hydropower often sits at the top of the list. After all, it\u2019s renewable, seemingly reliable, and emits no direct greenhouse gases during operation. But as with anything in life and in energy\u2026 the devil\u2019s in the details.<\/em><\/strong> It turns out that hydropower\u2019s reputation as the ultimate clean energy source might be more myth than reality\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I recently wrote a blog post<\/a> on hydropower that sheds light on some unpopular truths\u2026 the kind of truths you won\u2019t hear about in sustainability pitches or clean energy PR campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is Hydropower Nature\u2019s \u201cFrenemy\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At first glance, harnessing the power of flowing water sounds perfect. No burning fossil fuels, no air pollution, just a steady stream of clean energy. But here\u2019s the twist: large-scale hydropower projects often wreak havoc on ecosystems. Damming rivers disrupts natural water flows, affects fish migration, and leads to the flooding of vast areas, sometimes displacing entire communities. The environmental toll doesn\u2019t end with construction\u2026 but it continues for decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And let\u2019s not forget about GHGs like methane\u2026the potent greenhouse gas that\u2019s believed to be 25 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than CO\u2082. How does GHGs come into play? When vegetation and organic matter decompose in the stagnant waters of reservoirs, they emit GHGs like methane. Isn\u2019t that a far cry from the squeaky clean image we\u2019ve been sold?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability Isn\u2019t Always Reliable<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We like to think of hydropower as dependable, but generation depends on water availability, which in turn depends on weather patterns. Some countries that heavily rely on hydropower are finding themselves scrambling for backup energy sources during dry seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s the irony: in a world increasingly affected by changing weather patterns, hydropower\u2019s reliability diminishes. That\u2019s not the kind of limitations we would expect for our energy future\u2026now is it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Unpopular Truth About \u201cClean\u201d Energy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my detailed articl<\/a>e on Hydropower I make one thing clear: no energy source is perfect. Every option comes with trade-offs, and hydropower is no exception. What we need is an honest conversation about those trade-offs instead of the promises of a net-zero utopia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hydropower has a role to play, but we should approach it with eyes wide open, acknowledging its limitations and environmental impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, where does that leave us? Should we be rethink what we call \u201cclean.\u201d Is hydropower really as sustainable as we want it to be?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you think about hydropower? clean energy saviour or overhyped disruptor? I would like to hear your feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full article here: The \u201cUnpopular Truth\u201d about Hydro Power<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ps: feel free to subscribe to my blog<\/a> and keep questioning, keep learning, and keep pushing for transparency in energy discussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When we think of clean energy, hydropower often sits at the top of the list. After all, it\u2019s renewable, seemingly reliable, and emits no direct greenhouse gases during operation.\u00a0But as with anything in life and in energy\u2026 the devil\u2019s in the details.\u00a0It turns out that hydropower\u2019s reputation as the ultimate clean energy source might be more myth than reality\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":363504,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691819627,691820307,691832875,691818544,691818627,691832876],"class_list":{"0":"post-363502","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-clean-energy","9":"tag-ecosystems","10":"tag-fish-migration","11":"tag-flooding","12":"tag-hydropower","13":"tag-natural-water-flows","15":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/0IMG_762348.jpeg?fit=1733%2C1300&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1wyW","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":374784,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=374784","url_meta":{"origin":363502,"position":0},"title":"Hydro Power Not Quite As Clean As The BBC Want You To\u00a0Think!","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"11\/04\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Wind contributes just over 8%, with\u00a0hydropower contributing 14% making it the largest source of clean energy.","rel":"","context":"In \"BBC\"","block_context":{"text":"BBC","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=bbc"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/09189165.jpg?fit=1200%2C761&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/09189165.jpg?fit=1200%2C761&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/09189165.jpg?fit=1200%2C761&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/09189165.jpg?fit=1200%2C761&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/09189165.jpg?fit=1200%2C761&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":416685,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=416685","url_meta":{"origin":363502,"position":1},"title":"When context is missing","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"09\/12\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Are these perseverance slogans? 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