Changes in water availability caused by climate change could decrease the ability of hydropower facilities to generate energy, making grid decarbonisation efforts more difficult, researchers have said.
A team from University of California San Diego estimated that in the Western US hydropower generation could decline by up to 23% by the year 2050, even as electricity demand rises by 2%.
Hydropower accounts for more than 22% of all electricity generation in the Western US – primarily from states including California, Oregon and Washington. As the energy produced is zero carbon, it is considered one of the key ways to wean the US off fossil fuels for its power.
But the researchers estimated that an additional 139 gigawatts of power capacity would need to be built between 2030 and 2050 – equivalent to nearly three times California’s peak power demand. The total additional investment would come with a price tag of up to $150bn.
In this study, researchers took into account the vulnerability of...