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Climate change and the vulnerability of electricity generation to water stress in the European Union

Author

Listed:
  • Paul Behrens

    (Leiden University College The Hague
    Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden University)

  • Michelle T. H. van Vliet

    (Water Systems and Global change, Wageningen University)

  • Tijmen Nanninga

    (Leiden University College The Hague)

  • Brid Walsh

    (Leiden University College The Hague)

  • João F. D. Rodrigues

    (Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden University)

Abstract

Thermoelectric generation requires large amounts of water for cooling. Recent warm periods have led to curtailments in generation, highlighting concerns about security of supply. Here we assess EU-wide climate impacts for 1,326 individual thermoelectric plants and 818 water basins in 2020 and 2030. We show that, despite policy goals and a decrease in electricity-related water withdrawal, the number of regions experiencing some reduction in power availability due to water stress rises from 47 basins to 54 basins between 2014 and 2030, with further plants planned for construction in stressed basins. We examine the reasons for these pressures by including water demand for other uses. The majority of vulnerable basins lie in the Mediterranean region, with further basins in France, Germany and Poland. We investigate four adaptations, finding that increased future seawater cooling eases some pressures. This highlights the need for an integrated, basin-level approach in energy and water policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul Behrens & Michelle T. H. van Vliet & Tijmen Nanninga & Brid Walsh & João F. D. Rodrigues, 2017. "Climate change and the vulnerability of electricity generation to water stress in the European Union," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 2(8), pages 1-7, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natene:v:2:y:2017:i:8:d:10.1038_nenergy.2017.114
    DOI: 10.1038/nenergy.2017.114
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Yan, Xia & Jie, Wu & Minjun, Shi & Shouyang, Wang & Zhuoying, Zhang, 2022. "China's regional imbalance in electricity demand, power and water pricing - From the perspective of electricity-related virtual water transmission," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    2. Voisin, Nathalie & Dyreson, Ana & Fu, Tao & O'Connell, Matt & Turner, Sean W.D. & Zhou, Tian & Macknick, Jordan, 2020. "Impact of climate change on water availability and its propagation through the Western U.S. power grid," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    3. Zhou, Yuanchun & Ma, Mengdie & Gao, Peiqi & Xu, Qiming & Bi, Jun & Naren, Tuya, 2019. "Managing water resources from the energy - water nexus perspective under a changing climate: A case study of Jiangsu province, China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 380-390.
    4. Klaas Lenaerts & Simone Tagliapietra & Guntram B. Wolff, 2022. "How Can the European Union Adapt to Climate Change?," Intereconomics: Review of European Economic Policy, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics;Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), vol. 57(5), pages 314-321, September.
    5. Li, Huanhuan & Xu, Beibei & Riasi, Alireza & Szulc, Przemyslaw & Chen, Diyi & M'zoughi, Fares & Skjelbred, Hans Ivar & Kong, Jiehong & Tazraei, Pedram, 2019. "Performance evaluation in enabling safety for a hydropower generation system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 1628-1642.
    6. Jin, Yi & Scherer, Laura & Sutanudjaja, Edwin H. & Tukker, Arnold & Behrens, Paul, 2022. "Climate change and CCS increase the water vulnerability of China's thermoelectric power fleet," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    7. Jin, Yi & Behrens, Paul & Tukker, Arnold & Scherer, Laura, 2021. "The energy-water nexus of China’s interprovincial and seasonal electric power transmission," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 286(C).
    8. Valeria Jana Schwanitz & August Wierling & Payal Shah, 2017. "Assessing the Impact of Renewable Energy on Regional Sustainability—A Comparative Study of Sogn og Fjordane (Norway) and Okinawa (Japan)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-29, October.
    9. Oikonomou, Konstantinos & Tarroja, Brian & Kern, Jordan & Voisin, Nathalie, 2022. "Core process representation in power system operational models: Gaps, challenges, and opportunities for multisector dynamics research," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(PC).
    10. Yuan, Rong & Rodrigues, João F.D. & Tukker, Arnold & Behrens, Paul, 2018. "The impact of the expansion in non-fossil electricity infrastructure on China’s carbon emissions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 228(C), pages 1994-2008.
    11. Li, Haoran & Cui, Xueqin & Hui, Jingxuan & He, Gang & Weng, Yuwei & Nie, Yaoyu & Wang, Can & Cai, Wenjia, 2021. "Catchment-level water stress risk of coal power transition in China under 2℃/1.5℃ targets," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).

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