Tapping Methane in Dam Reservoirs to Generate Electricity

Researchers at Brazil's National Space Research Institute (INPE) have created a system to capture the accumulated methane in the reservoirs of hydroelectric plants and utilize it to generate more electrical power. The system would not only cut greenhouse gas emissions from dams, but also increase Brazil's electrical generating capacity at a time when it is urgently seeking new power sources. It might, suggests INPE researchers, reduce the pressure to build new dams in Amazonia.