Report: climate change poses risks to US energy sector

Climate change poses significant risks to U.S. energy infrastructure, and the reliability and cost of the services it enables, according to a report released yesterday by the U.S. Department of Energy.

The report - U.S. Energy Sector Vulnerabilities to Climate Change and Extreme Weather Report (4.2MB PDF) was developed as part of the Obama Administration’s efforts to support national climate change adaptation planning and to advance the U.S. Department of Energy’s goal of promoting energy security. These efforts are embodied by the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force and Strategic Sustainability Planning process established under Executive Order 13514.

The report is predicated on the findings that the U.S. climate is changing, and that these changes impact energy resources and infrastructure. As the report states, "Climatic conditions are already affecting energy production and delivery in the United States, causing supply disruptions of varying lengths and magnitude and affecting infrastructure and operations dependent upon energy supply." The report provides over 30 recent examples of energy infrastructure adversely impacted by climate change-related events such as power plant outages due to high temperatures or low water availability, storm damage to transmission lines, oil wells, pipelines and generators, and flooding-related disruption of fuel transportation systems.

Building on these findings, the report identifies a broad set of risks posed by climate trends, including increasing temperatures, decreasing water availability, and increasing storms, sea level rise, and flooding, as well as the current and potential future impacts of these climate trends on the U.S. energy sector. According to the report, each of these trends will independently, and in some cases in combination, affect the ability of the United States to produce and transmit electricity from fossil, nuclear, and existing and emerging renewable energy sources. These changes are also projected to affect the nation’s demand for energy and its ability to access, produce, and distribute oil and natural gas.

In particular, significant risks identified include:

• Thermoelectric power generation facilities are at risk from decreasing water availability and increasing ambient air and water temperatures, which reduce the efficiency of cooling, increase the likelihood of exceeding water thermal intake or effluent limits that protect local ecology, and increase the risk of partial or full shutdowns of generation facilities
• Energy infrastructure located along the coast is at risk from sea level rise, increasing intensity of storms, and higher storm surge and flooding, potentially disrupting oil and gas production, refining, and distribution, as well as electricity generation and distribution
• Oil and gas production, including unconventional oil and gas production (which constitutes an expanding share of the nation’s energy supply) is vulnerable to decreasing water availability given the volumes of water required for enhanced oil recovery, hydraulic fracturing, and refining
• Renewable energy resources, particularly hydropower, bioenergy, and concentrating solar power can be affected by changing precipitation patterns, increasing frequency and intensity of droughts, and increasing temperatures
• Electricity transmission and distribution systems carry less current and operate less efficiently when ambient air temperatures are higher, and they may face increasing risks of physical damage from more intense and frequent storm events or wildfires
• Fuel transport by rail and barge is susceptible to increased interruption and delay during more frequent periods of drought and flooding that affect water levels in rivers and ports
• Onshore oil and gas operations in Arctic Alaska are vulnerable to thawing permafrost, which may cause damage to existing infrastructure and restrict seasonal access, while offshore operations could benefit from a longer sea ice-free season
• Increasing temperatures will likely increase electricity demand for cooling and decrease fuel oil and natural gas demand for heating

Looking on the brighter side, the report notes that while climate change will, on balance, create challenges and costs for the energy sector, there are potential benefits to the energy sector as well. Examples include reduced average heating loads during the winter in parts of the United States, such as New England, and the opening of new regions to offshore oil and gas exploration due to shrinking sea ice cover in the Arctic. The report also covers adaptation actions underway, as well as other major opportunities to prepare for climate change through adaptation. Nevertheless, on balance, the report finds that the magnitude of the challenge posed by climate change on an aging and already stressed U.S. energy system could outpace current adaptation efforts, unless a more comprehensive and accelerated approach is adopted. Will the U.S. follow that path? What measures will it include? Will it make a difference?

Susquehanna River flooding threatens dam, communities

Close on Hurricane Irene’s heels, the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee are dropping up to 10 inches of rain across the northeastern United States.  As we saw when Irene hit Vermont, storms like this can cause not only widespread flooding as streams rise above their banks, but even risk dam failure and more catastrophic flooding.

Now, the rains caused by Tropical Storm Lee have led authorities from Maryland to New York to order the evacuation of nearly 100,000 people.

Flooding along the Susquehanna River is responsible for a large portion of this risk.  Arising out of branches in upstate New York and western Pennsylvania, the 464-mile long Susquehanna is the longest river on the east coast to drain into the Atlantic Ocean.  The river overtopped retaining walls in Binghamton, NY earlier today, leading to road closures that effectively isolate the city.  Downstream, deepening floods have caused the evacuation of the entire city of Wilkes-Barre, PA.

The Susquehanna flooding has also impacted the Conowingo hydroelectric dam about 10 miles above the river’s mouth in Maryland.  With 11 turbines providing a nameplate capacity of 572 megawatts, the Conowingo dam is one of the nation's largest non-federal hydroelectric facilities.  Now operated by Exelon subsidiary Susquehanna Electric Company, the Conowingo Dam is threatened by the Susquehanna floodwaters.  As a result, 50 of the dam’s 53 flood control gates have been opened, causing authorities to evacuate people from the downstream communities of Havre de Grace and Port Deposit.  Area residents remember 1972's Hurricane Agnes, whose rains and flooding caused all 53 flood gates to be opened and the dam operator to prepare for a controlled breach of part of the dam.

As Lee’s rains move out of the area, water levels in the Susquehanna River will peak and then recede.  Time will tell how damaging the flood waters will be.         

April 28, 2011 - storms knock TVA nuclear plant offline

The rash of tornadoes and powerful storms across the American midwest and south have knocked three nuclear reactors in Alabama offline.

This small dam maintains water levels in Haley Pond in the village of Rangeley, Maine.

I've previously noted the Tennessee Valley Authority's nuclear power program, and how stormy weather can impact generation and the electric grid.  Yesterday, a series of severe storms and tornadoes damaged eleven major transmission lines in the Southeast, cutting the power supply to TVA's Browns Ferry nuclear plant in Alabama.  Browns Ferry is home to three reactors with a combined capacity of 3,274 megawatts.


The TVA is a congressionally-chartered federal corporation operating a variety of generation resources.  Most famous among these may be the TVA's 29 hydroelectric dams, although TVA also operates three nuclear power plants (totaling six reactors), as well as coal plants, natural gas combined-cycle plants, and some non-hydro renewable power.




The storms may have some electric upside: TVA is running 8 of its 9 dams on the Tennessee River at full production -- primarily to control flooding, but producing hydroelectricity at the same time.

December 14, 2010 - rain and flooding

It's wet in Maine!  Much of the state was soaked by rain in the last two days, with up to 4 inches falling in some areas.  In many places, this warm water fell on snowpack.  Melting added even more surface water, causing streams and rivers to rise.  Flooding has been reported throughout Maine, covering everything from the walking path along the Androscoggin River below NextEra's hydroelectric dam in Brunswick, to the overtopping of a dam on the Piscataquis Rive, road washouts and power outages.  The Bangor Daily News reports that flood water flowed into the boiler room at the True Textiles-Interface Fabrics Guilford of Maine manufacturing facility in Guilford.  On the Kennebec River, Gardiner anticipated flooding of parking lots and streets as well.

Maine is no stranger to rain and flooding, and for the most part can weather the storms.  Yet when it rains like this, it does make life more interesting for hydroelectric operators in the region.

September 10, 2010 - Cobbossee dam repairs

Dam repairs pose interesting technical, environmental, and social challenges.  The situation with the Cobbossee Outlet Dam, in the town of Manchester, Maine, provides a good example.

For your reference, here is a Google map of the dam site.  This is several miles farther upstream from the New Mills Dam in Gardiner, which had its own dam repair and drawdown issues this spring.

The Town of Manchester owns the dam, which maintains the water levels in 5,000-acre Cobbossee Lake above, as well as ensuring adequate flows in Cobbossee Stream below the dam.  In all, parts of six municipalities are affected by the waters of Cobbossee.  The dam is damaged: one of its six gates is currently boarded up because it was at risk of failing.  Rotting wooden timbers need to be replaced, possibly with galvanized steel beams.

To perform the repairs, the lake level may have to be drawn down.  This concerns boaters on the lake, who fear that the drawdown might end the boating season early.  To address this concern, the plan is to do the dam repairs during this fall's annual seasonal drawdown of the lake.  Many dam managers perform drawdowns in the fall for flood control and to make room for spring runoff. 

Cost and cost-sharing are also at issue.  Currently, as the dam owner, Manchester appears to be on the hook for the repair costs, although there is talk of asking other communities along the watershed to pay into a repair fund.  It will be interesting to see how the project progresses.

August 31, 2010 - dam removal; biodiesel

Seen on the road: this soda distribution truck is "powered by BIODIESEL".

I'm following the dam removal projects on the Elwha River on the Olympics Peninsula in Washington.  One component of the $351 million river restoration project is the removal of two dams for about $40 million to $60 million: Elwha Dam (108' tall) and Glines Canyon Dam (210' tall).  Glines Canyon Dam is located within the boundaries of Olympic National Park.  This will be the nation's largest dam removal project to date.

Here's the National Park Service's website about the Elwha River Restoration project.


Dam removal is a hot topic.  Arguments in favor of dam removal typically include safety, fish passage, and water quality problems caused by some dams.  On the other side, arguments for keeping dams in place include mandates to generate local renewable power and flood control.

August 13, 2010 - Martha's Vineyard solar power; China

First, a solar power meter installed at the docks in Vineyard Haven on the island of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. Martha's Vineyard is home to a variety of innovative energy solutions designed to stabilize and lower rates, strengthen reliability and security, and reduce air emissions.



China's energy footprint continues to make news.  In July, a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that in 2009, China was the world's largest energy consumer.  According to the IEA, in 2009, China consumed 2.25 billion tons of oil equivalent in 2009.  (Compare the U.S. at 2.17 billion tons -- close, but a lower number.)  China subsequently ordered over 2,000 industrial facilities to close over their energy consumption.  Now, China is refuting the IEA study's results.  Chinese statistical agencies now point to a 2009 energy consumption in China of 2.15 billion tons, arguably due to differences in how consumption is estimated.  Whatever China's total energy footprint is, China's large population means that China's energy intensity -- measured in energy consumed per capita -- is roughly 20% of that of the U.S.

The World Meteorological Organization is publicly linking flooding in places like China, Pakistan, and the U.S. with renewed predictions of disaster due to climate change.

Russia is reporting that Iran will soon load fuel into its nuclear reactor.