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DOE Issues 'Survival Plan' for U.S. Energy Infrastructure
Green Technology Featured Articles
July 11, 2013

DOE Issues 'Survival Plan' for U.S. Energy Infrastructure

By Cheryl Kaften
TMCnet Contributor

Brace yourself. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released a report that warns that the nation’s ability to produce, deliver, and store energy already has been, and will continue to become, affected by climate change. While the impact of global warming is expected to vary regionally, vulnerabilities in one part of the country may have broader implications, due to the interconnected nature of energy systems—resulting in cascading, serious consequences.


Historically high temperatures in recent years have been accompanied by droughts and extreme heat waves, more destructive wildfires, and several intense storms, causing power and fuel disruptions for millions of people. These trends are expected to continue.

The DOE report, “U.S. Energy Sector Vulnerabilities to Climate Change and Extreme Weather,” notes that annual temperatures across the United States have increased by about 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit over the past century. In fact, 2012 comprised the 12 warmest months on record in the contiguous United States—one of them, the hottest since the country started keeping records in 1895.  

The DOE predicts that the severe weather holds the following implications for America’s energy infrastructure:

  • Thermoelectric power plants (coal, natural gas, and nuclear) will be at higher risk of temporary partial or full shutdowns, due to decreased water availability for cooling and higher ambient and air water temperatures. A study of coal plants, for example, found that roughly 60 percent of the current fleet is located in areas of water stress.
  •  The probability of hydropower shortages also will increase just when the need for energy is greatest, because earlier spring snowmelts could decrease summer water availability.
  • Energy infrastructure located along the coast will be 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. 
  • Power lines, transformers and electricity distribution systems may fall victim to hurricanes, storms and wildfires that are growing more intense and more frequent.
  • Fuel transport by rail and barge could be disrupted and delayed by inland flooding conditions and droughts that affect water levels in rivers and ports.  

Taking all of the above into consideration, the costs of air conditioning would escalate, as would the risks of blackouts and brownouts in some regions.  An Argonne National Laboratory study found that higher peak electricity demand, as a result of climate change-related temperature increases, will require an additional 34 gigawatts (GW) of new power generation capacity in the western United States, alone, by 2050—costing consumers a whopping $45 billion. 

In fact, according to the researchers, to counteract these effects, the nation would need the rough equivalent of more than 100 new power plants—and that doesn’t include new power plants that will be needed to accommodate growth in population or other factors.

In addition to identifying critical areas at risk from climate change and extreme weather, the report also identifies activities already underway to address these challenges, and discusses potential opportunities to make the energy sector more resilient.

Greater resilience will require improved technologies, policies, information, and stakeholder engagement. Possible future mitigation opportunities include development of water-efficient technologies for fuel production; improvement of grid equipment and operations to manage changing load conditions, and increase reliability; and strengthening of energy infrastructure to withstand wildfires, storms, floods, and sea level rise. This all would include what the report describes as a “hardening” of existing facilities and structures (e.g., transmission and distribution lines, power plants, oil and gas refineries, and offshore oil and gas platforms).

Potential future opportunities for federal, state, and local governments could include innovative policies that broaden the suite of available climate-resilient energy technologies and encourage their deployment, as well as improved data collection and models to better inform researchers and lawmakers of energy sector vulnerabilities and response opportunities.




Edited by Ryan Sartor


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