Overheating Our Energy Supply

Brad Plumer summarizes?a new Department of Energy report (pdf) ?which argues that large swaths of America?s aging energy infrastructure?? from nuclear reactors and barges transporting coal to oil rigs and power lines?? are at risk from the effects of global warming?:

If the United States keeps getting warmer, then many Americans will use air conditioning more often. Combine that with the risk of more frequent power-plant interruptions, and the Western United States will need?an additional 34 gigawatts of generation capacity?by 2050 to keep the lights on, according to a study by Argonne National Lab.?That?s an extra $45 billion. On the flip side, however, some parts of the United States, like the Northeast, will have fewer heating needs in the winter.

Now, the DOE report does suggest that there are ways to adapt to many of these changes. Transmission lines can be hardened against wildfires. Fracking firms can pursue more water-efficient ways to drill for natural gas. Hydroelectric dams facing lower reservoir levels can install more efficient turbines.?But this all costs extra.

Source: http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2013/07/12/overheating-our-energy-supply/

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