Experts: the energy infrastructure of the planet is vulnerable to climate change

Power plants at risk

Energy companies bear much of the blame for the planet’s warming, producing about 40 percent of global emissions. However, a new study shows that businesses themselves will also be hit hard by climate change.

Power plants at risk



As floods, droughts and extreme weather conditions become more common, many power plants could become vulnerable to such phenomena, potentially jeopardizing energy supplies around the world.

Cases with nuclear power plants like Fukushima have already proved that nuclear power plants are more vulnerable to natural disasters than everyone expected. When the drought situation worsens, many power plants will face the fact that they simply do not have enough water to cool their nuclear reactors. Other power plants, including coal-fired power plants, are vulnerable to flooding that could disrupt entire power distribution networks. Without careful planning, many areas could end up without energy as abrupt climate change begins to have an increasing impact.



Power plants at risk

The report, which was finalized for the World Energy Council, calls on energy companies to thoroughly re-examine their systems in order to plan for the future. For example, the provision of duplicative water supply and excess voltage in electrical networks could provide further improvements in infrastructure protection. Companies could also benefit by expanding clean energy sources such as wind and solar, and by building smarter power systems that distribute and deliver electricity more efficiently.



Power plants at risk



It’s no wonder that energy companies don’t think much about changing things. Fossil fuels still dominate the market, but it’s worth considering that companies will have to spend hundreds of billions of dollars just to keep the existing system running. Why not take some of that money and put it in greener and more sustainable directions, instead of continuing to work on an archaic system that only continues to increase the climate change that threatens energy infrastructure from the start?

Source: www.ecobyt.ru/