Hydropower Carbon Footprint & Environmental Impact

Carbon Footprint

Square Footprint

20.5 kg CO2e / MWh

1.8 ft2 Land Use Change / MWh

Carbon Footprint

Square Footprint

Smoke Stack 800
Clouds 800

20.5 kg CO2e / MWh

1.8 ft2 Land Use Change / MWh

If the average US home's annual electricity (10.715 MWh) was powered by hydropower, it would use:

25.8

Gallons of Gasoline Equivalent

219.7

kg CO2e
If the average US home's annual electricity (10.715 MWh) was powered by hydropower, it would use:

25.8

Gallons of Gasoline Equivalent

219.7

kg CO2e

The Carbon Footprint of hydropower is 20.5 kg CO2e per Megawatt Hour (MWh). The greenhouse gas emissions of hydropower are 23.7 times lower than natural gas power.

If the average US home's annual electricity (10.715 MWh) was powered by hydropower for 10 years, it would result in a land use change equivalent to:

1.3

Parking Spaces Equivalent

193

ft2
Parking Spaces 800
If the average US home's annual electricity (10.715 MWh) was powered by hydropower for 10 years, it would result in a land use change equivalent to:

1.3

Parking Spaces Equivalent

193

ft2

Over the 100 year lifespan of a hydropower plant, the land use change resulting from hydropower is 1.8 ft2 per Megawatt Hour. The land use change resulting from hydropower is 4.7 times lower than natural gas power.

Data and Assumptions

Carbon Footprint:

  • Lifecycle Carbon Footprint of Wind Power is based on NREL (2022). Median value of 20.5 g CO2e / kWh is based on a harmonized value from 22 studies with 149 unique values.
  • Lifecycle Carbon Footprint of Natural Gas based on NREL (2022). Median value of 486 g CO2e / kWh is based on a harmonized value from 58 studies with 93 unique values.
  •  

Land Use:

  • Square Footprint of Hydropower is based on Trainor et al. (2016). Value of 16.86 km2 / TWh (16.86 m2 / MWh) is reported in the study. Land use is 181 ft2 / MWh over the 100 year expected lifespan (US Department of Energy, 2004) of a hydropower plant. The induced land use change resulting from 1 MWh is divided by the 100 year expected lifespan, which results in a land use change of 1.8 ft2 / MWh (0.17 m2 / MWh).
  • Square Footprint of Natural Gas based on Trainor et al. (2016). The combined land use factor for all natural gas production methods is 0.79 km2 / TWh (0.79 m2 / MWh), which equals 8.5 ft2 / MWh. As natural gas is an extractive resource, land use change occurs every year, and thus power plant lifespan does not affect land use change. Land use change varies by the method of natural gas extraction. See the Natural Gas Power Carbon Footprint & Environmental Impact page for the assumptions made.
  • Square Footprint of a Parking Space is 144 ft2, based on the average dimensions stated by Franklin Street (2019).
 
General Assumptions:
  • Average 2020 US Household annual electricity of 10,715 kWh is based on EIA (2021A).
  • Carbon Footprint of gasoline is 8.50 kg CO2e / gallon, based on EIA (2021B).

References

DOE: US Department of Energy. (July, 2004). Hydropower – Setting a Course for Our Energy Future. See Link to Source

EIA: US Energy Information Administration. (2021A). How Much Electricity Does an American Home Use?. See Link to Source

EIA: US Energy Information Administration. (November 18, 2021B). Carbon Dioxide Emissions Coefficients by Fuel. See Link to Source

Franklin Street. (May 23, 2019). How Large is a Parking Space? See Link to Source

NREL: National Renewable Energy Laboratory. (2022). Life Cycle Assessment Harmonization. See Link to Source

Trainor, A. M., McDonald, R. I., & Fargione, J. (2016). Energy sprawl is the largest driver of land use change in United States. PloS one, 11(9), e0162269.