The ongoing drought in Europe is causing water in rivers to decline and individual areas or entire rivers to dry up completely. As a result, the continent’s power supply is at risk as nuclear and hydroelectric power plants depend on water. In Germany, more electricity is already being produced from gas, which is known to be scarce.
“It’s possible that in Germany we are more likely to have an electricity shortage than a gas shortage,” said Alexander Weiss, head of global energy consultancy at McKinsey. At the moment “all conceivable factors come together that together form an enormous burden on the electricity production system”. Weiss therefore considers it likely that larger industrial pantographs will have to be disconnected from the grid in the future to avoid power outages.
drought continues
In Germany, more electricity is already being produced from gas. In July that was 13 percent more than in the previous year and in August it was another 24 percent. Climate scientists see no relaxation for the time being. While rain is expected in many regions of Europe over the next ten days, the long-term forecast still points to drier than normal. This has consequences for the next three months, says Andrea Toreti of the European Drought Observatory of the European Commission.
Rainfall is decreasing, especially in southern Europe, leading to more frequent and intense droughts than a hundred years ago. This promotes the formation of deserts and increases the risk of forest fires, as is already the case in large parts of Europe. Higher air temperatures remove water from the soil through evaporation.
Compensation by glaciers
In Austria and other countries, the low water levels in the rivers are partly compensated by water from the glaciers. This is the case, for example, on the Danube, where the Inn tributary is still fed with much glacial water. This allows electricity production to continue at a slightly lower level.
Verbund currently produces 14 percentage points less electricity in its power plants than the long-term average. Therefore, it makes sense to focus more on photovoltaics and wind energy in the future, says Verbund spokeswoman Ingun Metelko.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
