Plataforma sobre Adaptación al Cambio Climático en España

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Energy

Energy

Energy production and transportation face a series of impacts brought about by climate change. These include changes to seasonal and annual trends in energy demand and variations in the electric power mix – which will depend less on hydroelectricity due to diminishing water resources.
 

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Hydropower expansion and improved management in response to increased glacier melt in Iceland

Iceland has 100% renewable electricity and heat system due to its abundant hydro- and geothermal resources. Despite the clear dominance of geothermal resources for house heating, hydropower plays an important role in Iceland’s energy mix, enabling Iceland’s electricity generation to be 100% renewable with 73% coming from hydro; 27% from geothermal and less than 0.01% from wind. The biggest hydroelectric power stations in Iceland are fed by glacial rivers.

Improved resilience of biomass fuel supply chain in UK

Nine UK electricity generating companies have been receiving support based on the provisions of the Climate Change Act of 2008. Specifically, the Joint Environmental Programme (an initiative funded by nine of the leading energy producers in the UK) supports a programme of research focusing on the environmental impacts of these nine leading producers, including Drax Power. The operating subsidiary of the Drax Group plc, Drax Power Limited has 6 boilers with a maximum capacity of 3,945 MW, 3 of which are powered by biomass pellets.

Adapting overhead lines in response to increasing temperatures in UK

Several energy transmission and distribution companies in the UK have begun to take the impact of increasing temperatures into consideration for the long-design of electricity distribution infrastructure. Rising temperatures can impact power lines by reducing their thermal rating (i.e. the maximum current allowed at a given temperature) and causing lines to sag to dangerous levels.

Flood risk management for hydropower plants in France

Hydropower is an essential part of the energy mix in France, accounting for around 20% of installed capacity. Climate change is projected to increase the frequency and intensity of extreme precipitation events and to accelerate snowmelt, which would result in increased flood risk. Flooding can adversely affect dams causing overtopping, outages, damage to equipment and adverse downstream impacts. It is essential that dam operators take these risks into consideration and implement adaptation measures as needed.

Replacing overhead lines with underground cables in Finland

This case study considers a Finnish example of replacing overhead lines with underground cabling. The same strategy is also applied in other European countries. Elenia is the second largest electricity distribution system operator in Finland. To adhere to the outage requirements of Finland’s updated Electricity Market Act, distribution system operators such as Elenia are investing substantially in underground cabling.

Flood defence framework for National Grid substations in United Kingdom

The United Kingdom has historically experienced severe flood events, including that of summer 2007, which resulted in the loss of essential services including water and energy supply, as well as the destruction of infrastructures, with estimated costs exceeding £3.2 billion. About half a million people were immediately affected by this event, in terms of temporary absence of energy supply. In any of such flood event, once energy supply is impacted, so are other services as water distribution, transport, communication and health care.

Living in a tree house in Torino (Italy): combining adaptation and mitigation measures to improve comfort

25 Verde is a residential building in Torino including 63 apartments (ranging from 50 to 140 square meters), which has been designed to integrate over 150 trees and other plants in the façade and on the roof to create an ideal micro-climate inside the building, while reducing air and noise pollution. The building is also well insulated from high and low outside air temperatures that respectively occur during summertime and wintertime. Energy efficiency measures used in the building address climate change adaptation needs and represent mitigation potential.

Climate bond financing adaptation actions in Paris

Sustainable development has been a major concern for the City of Paris for more than 10 years. When, in 2015, the City of Paris hosted the COP21, the City Hall wanted to send out a strong signal to the international community and to other local and regional authorities and show the diversity of municipal ecological actions and commitments. To emphasize this, the City of Paris erected the climate bond to finance climate and energy projects. The total size of the bond is € 300 million, with a running time until May 2031.

New locks in the Albert canal in Flanders, Belgium

The Albert canal in the eastern part of Flanders connects the industrial zones around Liege with the harbour of Antwerp. Ships can continue their way at both ends of the canal: via the river Scheldt to the Netherlands and via the river Meuse to France. In the future, the Meuse basin, from which the Albert canal receives its water, is projected to experience more and longer periods of low river discharge, as a consequence of climate change. Thus, less water is expected to be available for sluicing ships. This would limit inland navigation.