According to a Stanford University analysis, decreased hydropower generation as a result of the extreme drought may result in carbon emissions from individual fossil-fueled power plants in the Western United States that are up to 65% higher than typical.
According to the analysis, accelerated renewable energy production would have a negligible effect on emissions from fossil fuel generation during upcoming droughts.
Extreme drought circumstances can considerably boost carbon emissions from gas and coal-fired power plants that are brought online to make up for losses from underperforming hydroelectric units, according to an examination of weather, generation, and emissions data from 2001 to 2021.
According to the study, excess mortality and other costs associated with these drought-induced emissions could be 1.2–2.5 times higher than the reported direct economic costs from lost hydropower generation because of the interconnectedness of Western utilities, which causes many of these emissions to occur outside the region that is directly impacted by any given drought.