by Eric McErlain
Earlier this week, the journal
Nature Climate Change
published a study concerning how warmer weather and reduced river flows
might impact electricity generation at nuclear and coal-fired power
plants. Here's how
Reuters reported the findings:
In
a study published on Monday, a team of European and U.S. scientists
focused on projections of rising temperatures and lower river levels in
summer and how these impacts would affect power plants dependent on
river water for cooling.
The authors predict that coal and
nuclear power generating capacity between 2031 and 2060 will decrease by
between 4 and 16 percent in the United States and a 6 to 19 percent
decline in Europe due to lack of cooling water.
The nuclear energy industry isn't unfamiliar with the topic. Here at NEI Nuclear Notes, we first dealt with
the issue during the Summer of 2006 when a heat wave struck Europe and forced a number of nuclear plants to reduce power.
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