Drought and falling water levels this year have limited electric-power generation at Ecuadorian dams such as this one, Coca Codo Sinclair. (Photo courtesy of Celec)
Sagging hydroelectricity output due to drought-induced water-level declines in the region’s rivers has once again tested South America’s energy grid, pushing countries to step up use of fossil-fuel-fired plants and, as a result, boost their greenhouse-gas output. Drought in recent years, a phenomenon experts link to climate change, has been especially severe over the past year, its consequences ranging from stressed fauna and raging wildfires to declining agricultural yields and choked river transport. (See related story—this issue.) In September, for example, Paraguay River depths in the Paraguayan capital of Asunción reached their lowest levels since record-keeping began in 1904, constricting navigation on the usually busy waterway, says Paraguay’s National Navigation and Ports Administration. Among all drought impacts, however, the potential economic paralysis and social hardship posed by declining hydroelectric output in a region that depends a great deal on that form of power... [Log in to read more]
