Hydro power is good, but safeguards needed

Massachusetts is also seeking to diversify its low emitting energy resources by contracting for additional supplies of hydropower from Quebec. Acadia Center data indicate that if Massachusetts and the region continue their over-reliance on natural gas, it will be impossible to meet their long-term goals for emissions reductions. Studies conducted in Quebec conclude that Canadian hydropower from the existing system of dams is a low-carbon energy source. Acadia Center’s EnergyVision 2030 study shows that hydropower can play an important role in the Northeast’s shift away from fossil fuels, growing to be about 20 percent of the region’s energy supply by 2030 and allowing local clean energy sources to grow even faster. But hydro’s contribution is only of value if energy deliveries grow and occur in a way that results in verifiable carbon reductions.

Read the full article from CommonWealth Magazine here.