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Drought and electricity prices (Brazil) This is a recurring theme in my posts, as the chances of a drought occurring are increasing according to assessments by the main climate analysts in Brazil. Faced with this increasingly strong possibility, I launch a challenge for corporate and institutional energy consumers: what actions are being taken to mitigate this risk? Those who approach..
Energy Central…
Rain and snow has returned to California, ending the record-setting drought with record-setting precipitation.
The drought led to forest fires, dead orchards, and brown lawns. It also took a big bite out of ratepayers’ wallets and increased global warming emissions, due to the loss of low-cost, zero-emission hydropower.
In a study released April 26 by Peter Gleick—a noted water expert at the Pacific Institute in Oakland—researchers found that lower hydropower production cost California ratepayers almost $ 2.5 billion in higher power prices, and may have raised power sector carbon dioxide emissions 10%, due to increased output from gas-fired generators (see Figure 2). Gleick’s team used data through September 2016 to calculate the figures.
Courtesy: Pacific Institute
California has 14 GW of hydro capacity, with little growth in recent decades due to environmental, economic, and political constraints. While hydro typically supplies about 18% of California’s power, the drought dropped production to as low as 7% in 2015, the driest year of the drought.…