Global Warming Endangers Energy Production in the United States and Europe
The energy supplies for the United States and Europe are at risk, thanks to increasing complications attributed to climate change. In an ironic twist of fate, the rising water temperatures and reduced river flow caused by global warming is lowering the energy output of thermoelectric power plants, such as coal-fired power plants, that require constant supplies of water for cooling purposes. In other words, the problem that some of these power plants help create is now impacting their ability to perform.
Climate Change Causing Blackouts
Extreme drops in power generation, blackouts and full or partial shutdowns of thermoelectric power plants are expected to triple over the next 50 years, according to a report in Nature Climate Change.
Reduced flow in rivers and ever increasing water temperatures decrease the cooling capabilities that nuclear and coal-fired power plants have come to rely on. While this study shines a light on the needs for better water conservation methods, it also points out how significant of a weakness thermal cooling is for our existing power grid.
The co-author of the study, Dennis Lettenmaier, a University of Washington professor of civil and environmental engineering, said “this study suggests that our reliance on thermal cooling is something that we’re going to have to revisit.”
In the summer of 2011, the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Alabama had to go offline on more than one occasion because the Tennessee River water was just too hot to provide any cooling capabilities. The study finds this was not an isolated event, in fact the findings predict that energy efficiency or power production in the U.S. will decrease 4 percent to 16 percent and even higher in Europe due to a reduction in cooling water between 2031 and 2060.
Source: Global Warming is Real (http://s.tt/1e5iY)
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Gosh, all this extrapolated to the US and Europe from just one power plant in Tennessee that had to shut down on a hot summer day when the river had lower than usual levels. WUWT previously covered this breathtaking report of the river water temperature “crisis” and shutdown last week.
With facts like that it MUST be real. I’m reminded of this hilarious cartoon circulating the net via waznmentobe.com
I think a bigger threat to power plant shutdowns is environmental excess by the EPA, note there’s more than one power plant being closed, with a nearly 10% energy capacity drop, but somehow, that’s not a crisis to the geniuses at GlobalWarmingIsReal.com.
When the next big heat wave comes, do you think they’ll blame the EPA, or global warming for the blackouts that will surely come when the grid is stretched to capacity?
“DesertYote says:
June 14, 2012 at 5:55 pm
I’m thinking of doing a study to demonstrate that Climate Change causes brain damage.”
Too late – already been done.
http://www.albany.edu/campusnews/releases_286.htm
In other words, the problem that some of these power plants help create is now impacting their ability to perform.
That’s negative feedback for you! Stops tipping points!
Mark C says:
June 14, 2012 at 7:10 pm
Anthony, that satellite image you have at the top is a total fake. I did a thorough debunking of it at the time, unfortunately on a site no longer in existence.
Mark’s right. A simple caption fix, such as “EPA wants to turn this Photoshop fake into reality.”
REPLY: Done, thanks to both of you – Anthony
So, what they’re saying is that global warming has an in-built negative feedback mechanism – i.e a dampening effect – and so we shouldn’t actually worry about it at all?
”Thanks, guys!”
So, what they’re saying is that global warming has a built in negative feedback mechanism?
Good to know. they can all stop screaming about how the sky is falling now, I guess, having proved to themselves there’s really nothign to worry about?
No, I didnt think so either.
So in the summer the plants are more difficult to cool than in the winter.
Engeneering solution:
Larger intakes and pumps.
So the coal plants have reached a tipping point!
crosspatch says:
June 14, 2012 at 5:47 pm
I wonder how long it will be before people are powering their home from a “free” EV charging station.
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I guess when they realize a powerpack has a limited number of recharges and it’s more expensive to buy a new powerpack then to pay for regular electricity they’ll think again.
Better to close down the EPA than one coal fired generator. Wind generation has a bad input to grids because of their varying power input which can switch whole regions off.
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In the summer of 2011, the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Alabama had to go offline on more than one occasion because the Tennessee River water was just too hot to provide any cooling capabilities.
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Hilarious. Almost certainly, the reason the Tenn plant had to shut down was because of EPA river-water temperature regulations, not because the plant couldn’t physically operate. High circ-water temps mean you just reduce load, not shut down. And almost any modern plant on rivers have closed circ-water systems/cooling towers, not once-thru.
I heard on npr that fires are now caused by global warming too. It will be a sad day when fossil fuels have been dismantled and all these so called problems haven’t gone away, alarmists will have wasted so much time and money blaming everything on global warming.
I wonder if it’s time for me to build that miniature power plant in the back yard. I’m sure the neighbors won’t mind . . . of all the b.s.
The cooling properties of water will diminish with a slight warming of the atmosphere. The cooling properties will be degraded so much that mankinds ability to generate electricity.
This hogwash comes from scientists so it must be true.
GOD! The stupidity is maddening.
“EPA also will accept written comments until June 25, 2012. Instructions for submitting written comments (PDF)”
*** WRITE ***
Make a difference.
Explain why the science is bad & the regulations are bad.
See EPA Regulatory Actions
http://epa.gov/carbonpollutionstandard/actions.html
Stark Dickflüssig says:
June 14, 2012 at 6:34 pm
Dennis Lettenmaier, a University of Washington professor of civil and environmental engineering, said “this study suggests that our reliance on thermal cooling is something that we’re going to have to revisit.”
Sounds like the Peltier effect :))
TheInquirer says:
June 14, 2012 at 11:22 pm
“From GlobalWarmingIsReal.com, a rather hilarious take on what that 0.8C of temperature increase in the last century is doing. Who knew the global electric grid was so fragile that it couldn’t handle such massive temperature increases? /sarc -Anthony”
This comment is inane and demonstrates such flawed thinking that, if anyone with even common sense read it, they would realize your agenda. how can anyone, let alone a “meteorologist” suggest that a mean global tempertatures rise measured over decades translates into a uniform rise of that magnitude locally and at shorter time scales?
You mislead your readers. And little wonder you had to get someone to do the stats for you in the paper you co-”authored” when you make primary school level mistakes like this.
[SNIP: language. -REP]
Anthony knows full well that fooling his audience is not an option. This is not one of your moronic AGW with people like you on it. This is site of well qualified scientists, engineers and economists.
[SNIP Again. I’m pretty sure that was not what you intended to say. -REP], plonker.
ANTHONY, Sorry about the language but these trolls are really beginning to get me with their crasse stupidity.
Interestingly, the nuke at Turkey Point in S. Florida has an array of cooling canals to allow heated water to cool to a level for legal release to the eco-system. These cooling canals have become a haven for salt water crocodiles. This species has been saved here thanks to nuclear power generation. From an endangered population of less than 500, to now, thousands of crocodiles.
Florida Power & Light are quite proud of themselves. As they should be.
d says:
June 15, 2012 at 4:15 am
I heard on npr that fires are now caused by global warming too. It will be a sad day when fossil fuels have been dismantled and all these so called problems haven’t gone away, alarmists will have wasted so much time and money blaming everything on global warming.
400 years ago, in the depth of the LIA, Authorities were running around screaming “Witches, Witches – it’s Witches that have caused the crops to fail – Witches, kill all the Witches…”
Unfortunately, the mindless, cruel zeal is the same – just the words have changed.
OK, the water not being able to cool is complete and total BS. That has been a battle cry for years. The water can cool just fine. The issue is the fish and fauna downstream. The discharge water exceeds allowable limits and will be to warm and cause a large kill downstream. THAT is why the power stations have to go offline, not because they can’t cool effectively. They are protecting fish and plants.
It’s going to be so warm that we can’t cool our power plants? Seriously? This stinks so bad it shouldn’t be accepted as a 5th grade science paper.
How many power plants shut down on the summer because they can’t be cooled? Remember the big Texas heat wave last year — how many nuclear plants had to be taken offline because they couldn’t cool down? How many coal plants were taken offline? Was it none? Zip? Zilch?
Yep.
The map of generating stations set to close due to EPA regulations is missing quite a few red dots! I work in the electric utility industry and review EPA regulations for a living. IER updated their map in April 2012, and the revision shows 33.8GW of generation shutting down as a result of the Cross State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) and the Mercury and Air Toxic Standards Rule (MATS). Combine this with EPA’s New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for CO2, and now you have a clear picture of how EPA views our most abundant energy resource.
So if somebody wants to build a coal-fired plant they can. It’s just that it will bankrupt them…”
– Barack Obama speaking to San Francisco Chronicle, January 2008
http://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Power-plants-to-close-because-of-EPAs-regs-April-20-update.pdf
Ally E. says:
June 14, 2012 at 6:21 pm
They’ve got bloody nerve! So when the blackouts come because of ruddy wind power and closed down power stations they’ll blame global warming! They’re setting up ahead so as not to cop the blame for their stupid damn policies and inefficient green power!
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Beat me to it and said it better. This is just propaganda to pass the blame. It will work too unfortunately. The food “SAFETY” Modernization Act is a classic example of how media spin twisted the truth so the bad guys won. Public outrage did nothing because of media spin. If you control the media you control the message, and “THEY” control the media.
http://www.whistleblower.org/storage/documents/Shielding_the_Giant_Final_PDF.pdf
http://www.examiner.com/article/trojan-horse-law-the-food-safety-modernization-act-of-2009
There is no sign of water shortages except those caused by human withdrawals. Global warming should increase precip, and over the USA it has risen 5% the past century (if you believe it can be measured that accurately).
On the other hand, increasing use of windmills and solar WILL cause blackouts, as Germany has recently discovered.
That last part tells the real story. The EPA closing power plants via regulations that are choking them out of business.
Closing coal plants.
That’s a trick to show the “increase” percentage of “green” electricity.