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Hydroelectric Plants Release Greenhouse Gases, Group Says The Vancouver Sun - 1 June 2000 Hydroelectric power plants are not as environmentally friendly as they appear and release more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than coal-fired power stations, New Scientist magazine said Wednesday.It says the World Commission on Dams, a global group probing large dam projects, will release its findings later this month. The journal said one of the key findings is that much of the greenhouse gas is generated by organic matter washed into a reservoir and from the decay of submerged forests. The reservoirs release carbon dioxide and methane. "Stagnant water produces the worst emissions because the decaying vegetation generates methane," New Scientist said. "This is 20 times as potent a greenhouse gas as CO2, which is produced when there is oxygen in the water. So a reservoir will produce more methane than the river did before the dam was built."
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