Climate Change Likely to Complicate Energy Future
Climate change poses a range of possible effects on the energy sector in the United States, including reduction of total U.S. heating requirements and increases to total U.S. cooling requirements, according to a new report.
Climate change poses a range of possible effects on the energy sector in the United States, including reduction of total U.S. heating requirements and increases to total U.S. cooling requirements, according to a new report.
In the past decade, unlike sectors such as water, agriculture, and human health, the energy sector has not been the focus of climate impact discussions. Developed in coordination with the Department of Energy,
the report says since nearly all cooling is provided by electricity while heating is fueled by a variety of energy sources, such as natural gas and fuel oil, demands for electricity are likely to grow.
The effects on energy production and supply are predicted to vary widely. For example, reduced snowfall in mountain areas in the West would mean reduced water supplies for hydroelectric power, and changes in precipitation patterns could also have implications for thermal power plant cooling. Because air and water are used to cool thermoelectric power plants, the report finds that warming of the atmosphere and water in rivers used to cool power plants could increase cooling demands and might reduce overall thermoelectric power plant efficiencies.
The report indicates that climate change could affect risk management strategies in the investment behavior of some energy institutions. It is also likely to have effects on energy resource and technology choices and research and development investments. Other possible indirect effects on the U.S. energy system include energy prices, depending considerably on progress towards advanced energy technologies, and effects on other countries that are linked to the U.S. energy system.
The authors of the report note that the energy sector is vulnerable to stresses from climate change that if identified early enough, could likely be addressed by adaptation strategies that will reduce eventual costs to consumers and to the energy institutions that seek to meet U.S. needs for energy services.
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