Hydropower in the Mekong river basin in Southeast Asia is not a “categorically low-emission” energy source, according to researchers who studied its long-term greenhouse-gas output.
The study – the first to assess emissions on a large scale over a lifetime of 100 years – paints a mixed picture for hydropower in the tropics. Although many of the Mekong reservoirs have emissions comparable to renewable energy sources, a large portion have considerably greater emissions, with some even matching those from fossil-fuel power plants.
The researchers believe that if low emissions are to be considered important, many factors must be taken into account and the merits of hydroelectric reservoirs must be assessed on a case-by-case basis. […]
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