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Estimation of carbon stock for greenhouse gas emissions from hydropower reservoirs

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Abstract

The identification and accurate quantification of sources or sinks of greenhouse gas (GHG) have become a key challenge for scientists and policymakers working on climate change. The creation of a hydropower reservoir, while damming a river for power generation, converts the terrestrial ecosystems into aquatic and subsequently aerobic and anaerobic decomposition of flooded terrestrial soil organic matter resulting in the emission of significant quantity of GHG to the atmosphere. Tropical/subtropical hydropower reservoirs are more significant sources of GHG compared to boreal or temperate one. This paper aims to estimate the emission factor (gCO2eq./kWh) and net GHG emission from Koteshwar hydropower reservoir in Uttarakhand, India. Further, estimated GHG are compared with those from global reservoirs located in the same eco-region so that its impact could be timely minimized/mitigated. Results have shown that emission factor and net GHG emission of Koteshwar reservoir are, respectively, estimated as 13.87 gCO2eq./kWh and 167.70 Gg C year−1 which are less than other global reservoirs located in the same eco-region. This information could be helpful for the hydropower industries to construct reservoirs in tropical eco-regions.

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Acknowledgements

All the authors are highly thankful for the AE and eminent reviewers for giving fruitful comments to improve the quality of paper. These comments will be highly beneficial in my ongoing project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Hydrology and Water Resources, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, China

    Amit Kumar & Tao Yang

  2. Biomass and Ecosystem Lab, Alternate Hydro Energy Centre, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, 247667, India

    M. P. Sharma

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  1. Amit Kumar
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  2. M. P. Sharma
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  3. Tao Yang
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Correspondence to Amit Kumar.

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Kumar, A., Sharma, M.P. & Yang, T. Estimation of carbon stock for greenhouse gas emissions from hydropower reservoirs. Stoch Environ Res Risk Assess 32, 3183–3193 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00477-018-1608-z

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