Coal-fired power plants have long been the target of climate change scientists and advocates who want a moratorium on coal-powered plant construction. Now, thanks to the climate change to which emissions from coal-fired plants have contributed, coal-fired plants and nuclear power plants may not have sufficient water for operation or for cooling.

In fact, a team of U.S. and European scientists anticipates that power production will fall four to 16 percent in the U.S. by 2031 because falling river levels will not provide sufficient cooling levels. In Europe, power production is expected to fall by six to twelve percent. These inconsistencies in production, according to the scientists, mean that the likelihood of almost complete or total shutdowns will triple in the next two decades.

“This study suggests that our reliance on thermal cooling is something that we're going to have to revisit,” said co-author Dennis Lettenmaier, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Washington in Seattle.

In the U.S., thermoelectric power plants supply 90 percent of the nation’s power usage while using 40 percent of the water supply. European plants are less efficient, with thermoelectric supplying 75 percent of the electricity and using 50 percent of the water supply.

The most significant influences will be in the southeastern U.S. at inland power plants along major rivers.

One solution is to make sure all new power plants are powered by gas instead of steam. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 20 percent of the power added to the electrical grid by 2015 will be powered by gas-fired power plants.

In some plants, gas is used to heat water and to make steam, which turns large turbines and generates electricity. In other plants, turbines are powered by the burning of natural gas.

These plants, however, are less efficient than steam-powered plants and are usually only turned on during peak load hours.

“Considering the increase in future electricity demand, there is a strong need for improved climate adaptation strategies in the thermoelectric power sector to assure future energy security,” wrote the study’s authors.