{"id":374784,"date":"2025-04-11T16:34:54","date_gmt":"2025-04-11T14:34:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=374784"},"modified":"2025-04-11T16:34:56","modified_gmt":"2025-04-11T14:34:56","slug":"hydro-power-not-quite-as-clean-as-the-bbc-want-you-to-think","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=374784","title":{"rendered":"Hydro Power Not Quite As Clean As The BBC Want You To\u00a0Think!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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

from NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Paul Homewood<\/p>\n\n\n\n

h\/t Joe Public<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Wind contributes just over 8%, with hydropower contributing 14% making it the largest source of clean energy<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/cq80ygdd3zlo<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the BBC is bragging that 14% of the world\u2019s electricity comes from \u201cclean\u201d hydropower, they seem to have forgotten what they wrote previously:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dams and reservoirs around the world are an underappreciated source of methane. Now start-ups want to capture that gas as a source of power.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It takes just one second for four Olympic-sized swimming pools-worth of water to charge through the turbines at the Tucuru\u00ed dam in northern Brazil. The rush of water here at one of the <\/em>largest hydroelectric reservoirs<\/em><\/a> in the Amazon region is deafening, but it\u2019s what makes the dam the <\/em>fifth largest power plant<\/em><\/a> in the world.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the water churns through a series of <\/em>25 turbines<\/em><\/a> and spillways of the dam, however, something else is happening \u2013 it\u2019s emitting greenhouse gases.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Often regarded as one of the oldest forms of renewable energy, hydroelectric dams and their reservoirs are responsible for the release the equivalent of almost <\/em>one billion tonnes of carbon dioxide<\/em><\/a> into the atmosphere (with much of these greenhouse gas emissions in the form of methane) as water approaches and then tumbles its way through the turbines that generate electricity. Methane is a greenhouse gas that\u2019s <\/em>more than 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide<\/em><\/strong><\/a> over a 20-year lifespan, but it also breaks down faster in the atmosphere than CO2.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These hidden emissions mean that hydroelectricity is perhaps not as clean as it first seems.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reason is that it\u2019s not just water passing through the turbines \u2013 a lot of dissolved greenhouse gases flow through them too. Just as carbon dioxide dissolves in our fizzy water while under pressure, so too does methane gas dissolve in large bodies of water under certain conditions.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now imagine you\u2019re holding a bottle of sparkling water. Before opening it, you don\u2019t see any bubbles inside because the carbon dioxide gas stays dissolved. As you open the lid, you hear a fizzing sound as the pressure is released and bubbles of carbon dioxide rise up. Shake that water first, and this effervescent “degassing” will most probably make your carbonated drink explode everywhere.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something similar happens to the methane dissolved in the water from lakes when it is churned.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/future\/article\/20240326-how-hydroelectric-dams-are-a-hidden-source-of-carbon-emissions<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sounds as if hydro power is not quite as clean as the BBC would like you to believe!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Wind contributes just over 8%, with\u00a0hydropower contributing 14% making it the largest source of clean energy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":374789,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","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_feature_clip_id":0,"_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":[691818389,691829997,691819627,691834366,691834402,691818852],"class_list":["post-374784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bbc","tag-carbon-dioxide-co","tag-clean-energy","tag-hydro-power","tag-methane-emissions","tag-wind-power","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/09189165.jpg?fit=1920%2C1217&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1zuU","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":273840,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=273840","url_meta":{"origin":374784,"position":0},"title":"King Coal Outdistancing Wind\/Solar\/Hydro\/Other Renewables","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"08\/16\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"In 2022, coal accounted for 35.4% of global electric generation, followed by natural gas (22.7%), hydro (14.9%), nuclear (9.2%), wind (7.2%), solar (4.5%), geothermal, biomass, and other renewables (3.6%).","rel":"","context":"In \"China\"","block_context":{"text":"China","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=china"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-666.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-666.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-666.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-666.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":253423,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=253423","url_meta":{"origin":374784,"position":1},"title":"European Energy Suffering, Now Hydro and Nuclear","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"04\/17\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Last year, Europe was on the brink of an energy breakdown\u00a0as Russian gas flows dried up and most of Europe doubled down on renewable energy.","rel":"","context":"In \"hydropower\"","block_context":{"text":"hydropower","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=hydropower"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0eat-or-heat-image-1400x700-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0eat-or-heat-image-1400x700-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0eat-or-heat-image-1400x700-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0eat-or-heat-image-1400x700-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/0eat-or-heat-image-1400x700-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":427459,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=427459","url_meta":{"origin":374784,"position":2},"title":"Beijing Boasts Clean Energy Leadership\u2014Fossil Fuels Still Dominate Reality","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"02\/22\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"China has indeed been aggressively promoting its leadership in renewable energy, and the achievements are substantial. In recent years, particularly through 2025 and into early 2026, China has installed record amounts of solar, wind, and other clean energy capacity, outpacing the rest of the world combined in many metrics. However,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"China\"","block_context":{"text":"China","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=china"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AQMgsiZdV7us-qo4A_U5hoU6xoW4WXJl4RfFniUqiCT4cDYzM93Wh5jT1Jw0mSvIkp2yDyP6v087MqW41SHkQrSA1ArJ3k6_FPFPddrRG2n070K48B5Zbn6wks-vlASZ-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AQMgsiZdV7us-qo4A_U5hoU6xoW4WXJl4RfFniUqiCT4cDYzM93Wh5jT1Jw0mSvIkp2yDyP6v087MqW41SHkQrSA1ArJ3k6_FPFPddrRG2n070K48B5Zbn6wks-vlASZ-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AQMgsiZdV7us-qo4A_U5hoU6xoW4WXJl4RfFniUqiCT4cDYzM93Wh5jT1Jw0mSvIkp2yDyP6v087MqW41SHkQrSA1ArJ3k6_FPFPddrRG2n070K48B5Zbn6wks-vlASZ-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AQMgsiZdV7us-qo4A_U5hoU6xoW4WXJl4RfFniUqiCT4cDYzM93Wh5jT1Jw0mSvIkp2yDyP6v087MqW41SHkQrSA1ArJ3k6_FPFPddrRG2n070K48B5Zbn6wks-vlASZ-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AQMgsiZdV7us-qo4A_U5hoU6xoW4WXJl4RfFniUqiCT4cDYzM93Wh5jT1Jw0mSvIkp2yDyP6v087MqW41SHkQrSA1ArJ3k6_FPFPddrRG2n070K48B5Zbn6wks-vlASZ-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":416685,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=416685","url_meta":{"origin":374784,"position":3},"title":"When context is missing","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"12\/09\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Are these perseverance slogans? Or is the context simply faded out?","rel":"","context":"In \"China\"","block_context":{"text":"China","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=china"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AQMEDSFGiqaRRM-TiGb4K4kLkXwoQlXg2Z5Ajo3utwobkE51oDey0zNfCpBHusPD3FeXB_tnV4Qogo_uuWqGX7JZDCL5Szz22k-oxwj95AK06Tk-KdsknOTVdtRupveE.jpeg?fit=1200%2C581&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AQMEDSFGiqaRRM-TiGb4K4kLkXwoQlXg2Z5Ajo3utwobkE51oDey0zNfCpBHusPD3FeXB_tnV4Qogo_uuWqGX7JZDCL5Szz22k-oxwj95AK06Tk-KdsknOTVdtRupveE.jpeg?fit=1200%2C581&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AQMEDSFGiqaRRM-TiGb4K4kLkXwoQlXg2Z5Ajo3utwobkE51oDey0zNfCpBHusPD3FeXB_tnV4Qogo_uuWqGX7JZDCL5Szz22k-oxwj95AK06Tk-KdsknOTVdtRupveE.jpeg?fit=1200%2C581&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AQMEDSFGiqaRRM-TiGb4K4kLkXwoQlXg2Z5Ajo3utwobkE51oDey0zNfCpBHusPD3FeXB_tnV4Qogo_uuWqGX7JZDCL5Szz22k-oxwj95AK06Tk-KdsknOTVdtRupveE.jpeg?fit=1200%2C581&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AQMEDSFGiqaRRM-TiGb4K4kLkXwoQlXg2Z5Ajo3utwobkE51oDey0zNfCpBHusPD3FeXB_tnV4Qogo_uuWqGX7JZDCL5Szz22k-oxwj95AK06Tk-KdsknOTVdtRupveE.jpeg?fit=1200%2C581&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":414757,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=414757","url_meta":{"origin":374784,"position":4},"title":"The Problem with Wind Energy in the Northwest","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"11\/26\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"There is a lot of interest in renewable energy in the Pacific Northwest that could supplement our hydropower.\u00a0","rel":"","context":"In \"Pacific Northwest\"","block_context":{"text":"Pacific Northwest","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=pacific-northwest"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0AQPVwhFF1PfC-LzvVmLf13o8t-gEwf8ibKAU2Yq9pPeCq92ewXwI3nWWpNInMVc0jltX-ysouIJS812nkkMJ5HahkoHF6TM6qNOl_W0yTLJCAlA0oSzJ51ux-d0uMQiv-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C853&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0AQPVwhFF1PfC-LzvVmLf13o8t-gEwf8ibKAU2Yq9pPeCq92ewXwI3nWWpNInMVc0jltX-ysouIJS812nkkMJ5HahkoHF6TM6qNOl_W0yTLJCAlA0oSzJ51ux-d0uMQiv-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C853&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0AQPVwhFF1PfC-LzvVmLf13o8t-gEwf8ibKAU2Yq9pPeCq92ewXwI3nWWpNInMVc0jltX-ysouIJS812nkkMJ5HahkoHF6TM6qNOl_W0yTLJCAlA0oSzJ51ux-d0uMQiv-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C853&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0AQPVwhFF1PfC-LzvVmLf13o8t-gEwf8ibKAU2Yq9pPeCq92ewXwI3nWWpNInMVc0jltX-ysouIJS812nkkMJ5HahkoHF6TM6qNOl_W0yTLJCAlA0oSzJ51ux-d0uMQiv-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C853&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0AQPVwhFF1PfC-LzvVmLf13o8t-gEwf8ibKAU2Yq9pPeCq92ewXwI3nWWpNInMVc0jltX-ysouIJS812nkkMJ5HahkoHF6TM6qNOl_W0yTLJCAlA0oSzJ51ux-d0uMQiv-1.jpeg?fit=1200%2C853&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":407439,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=407439","url_meta":{"origin":374784,"position":5},"title":"Have Renewables Overtaken\u00a0Coal?","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"10\/10\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Kathryn Porter mentioned claims that renewables were now supplying more electricity than coal on a worldwide basis.","rel":"","context":"In \"Kathryn Porter\"","block_context":{"text":"Kathryn Porter","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=kathryn-porter"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/0facepalm.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/0facepalm.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/0facepalm.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/0facepalm.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/0facepalm.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=374784"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":374791,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374784\/revisions\/374791"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/374789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=374784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=374784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=374784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}