Tuesday, May 19, 2015

USA, California:

Climate Change Threatens Electric Power Supply in California, Report Warns (The Guardian)

By 2050 extended years of drought could lead to an electricity shortage as well as a water shortage, according to new study released Monday


Californians may have to start rationing more than water, including how much they turn on their lights and how often they use their hairdryers.

By 2050, extended years of drought in the state could lead to an electricity shortage as well as a water shortage, according to a study published on Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change.

In the study, Arizona State University authors Matthew Bartos and Mikhail Chester found that almost half (46%) of 978 electric power stations in the western US should expect to face a decrease in electricity generating capacity by “mid-century”, a timeframe coined as 2040 to 2060, due to climate change.

Renewable technologies were found to be more resilient to the effects of climate change, suggesting that a greater shift towards renewables may not just help diminish greenhouse gas emission, but may also help create a more climate-resistant power infrastructure.