Megadroughts Threaten Decarbonization Plans in the Western US
Earthquakes, massive forest fires, and now megadroughts? Wow, utilities in the western U.S. clearly have more than their fair share of challenges. As if this isn’t bad enough, political pressure to decarbonize (i.e., reducing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere) will only serve to tighten the clamps even more.
How Climate-Induced Events Like Megadroughts Will Squeeze Decarbonization Efforts
It’s common knowledge that California electric utilities are in such a precarious position from wildfires that planned blackouts are basically the new norm in the state during the summer months. But we need to ask, what is the root cause of the wildfire problem?
Well, you guessed it – climate change has fostered extreme heat, which has produced ever-growing dry spells affectionally called megadroughts. The result is that the entire state is like a highly flammable tinderbox waiting to ignite with the tiniest of sparks.
Unfortunately, climate change is not likely to go away any time soon, which not only squeezes electric utilities from an emergency preparedness perspective, but it also makes the politically-charged mandate for them to increase the percentage of electricity generated from renewable energy sources much more difficult to achieve.
Electric utilities in states like California that are expected to replace coal and gas-fired plants with clean energy sources cannot do so quickly enough to accommodate the increasingly dry and volatile climate. And it’s not just California, electric utilities from Washington State to New Mexico are also destined to feel the pinch.
That said, California utilities seem to have it the worst. The state is currently in the second year of its most recent drought and is in the midst of its third driest water year on record, which has decreased the state’s reservoir storage by 50% and obviously has a dramatic impact on hydropower production.
While it’s true that electric utilities all across the U.S. have dealt with emergencies relatively well historically, the push for decarbonization throws a fresh monkey wrench into the situation. Between sweltering heat waves, raging wildfires, megadroughts, or something else, utilities will need to navigate rough waters to come out of this reality unscathed.
