Hoover Dam and Lake Mead (photo: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation)

“Hydropower is not the only part of the nation’s energy system that appears increasingly vulnerable to the impact of climate change, as low water levels affect coal-fired and nuclear power plants’ operations  and impede the passage of coal barges along the Mississippi River,” writes Juliet Eilperin in the Washington Post (Climate change challenges power plant operations, online September 9).  The article calls attention to a significant set of impacts of climatic disruption and points to the need for adaptive preparedness. “’We’re trying to manage a changing climate, its impact on water supplies and our ability to generate power, all at once,’ said Michael L. Connor, commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, the Interior Department’s water management agency.”

Earlier posts:

Rising Temperatures Expose Cities’ Vulnerable Electrical Supplies

Extreme summer heat drives up electricity demand  for cooling. This can strain electrical supply, transmission, and distribution systems and thereby increase the risks of very costly and disruptive blackouts.

Federal report warns of costly impacts to US cities from changing weather extremes

Policymaker evasiveness on climate change and drought, cont’d

US drought planning: Congress reviews the National Integrated Drought Information System