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hydropower | Canada | reducing pollution

REDUCING POLLUTION: HYDRO VERSUS FOSSIL FUEL

source: www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/iea/
overview.html

www.ieahydro.org/Bur-Recl-web/
Hydrofut.pdf

www.undp.org/seed/eap/activities/
wea/drafts-frame.html

Hydropower can play a major role in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions:

Developing 1/2 of the world's economically feasible hydropower potential could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 13%.

GHG emission factor for hydro plants in boreal ecosystems is typically 30 - 60 times less than for fossil fuel generation.

Taking into account the fuel required to build hydropower stations, a coal-fired plant can emit 1,000 times more SO2 than hydropower systems.

In China, for example, 23 million tons of SO2 are discharged into the atmosphere each year by thermal power plants, causing 40% of the total land area to be seriously affected by acid rain. In 1995, the resulting damage to crops, forests, materials and human health was calculated to be more than US$ 13 billion.

*Hydropower: electricity generation using the power of falling water, through dams and reservoirs.

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