Nuclear, coal-fired electrical plants vulnerable to climate change

Submitted by Luis Kun

homelandsecuritynewswire.com - June 5, 2012

Thermoelectric plants, which use nuclear or fossil fuels to heat water into steam that turns a turbine, supply more than 90 percent of U.S. electricity and account for 40 percent of the U.S. freshwater usage; in Europe, these plants supply three-quarters of the electricity and account for about half of the freshwater use; warmer water and reduced river flows in the United States and Europe in recent years have led to reduced production, or temporary shutdown, of several thermoelectric power plants; a new study says this problem will only grow.

Warmer water and reduced river flows in the United States and Europe in recent years have led to reduced production, or temporary shutdown, of several thermoelectric power plants. For instance, the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Alabama had to shut down more than once last summer because the Tennessee River’s water was too warm to use it for cooling.

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