Via The River Network, an interesting look at watergy challenges currently impacting Norway:
The interconnections between water, energy and climate change cannot be made more perfectly clear than by the current conditions of Norway. With the nation relying almost entirely on hydroelectricity, coupled with massively depleted hydro reservoirs, the temporary shut down of seven neighboring nuclear plants, and an unusually cold winter creating greater electricity demand; Norway is experiencing the perfect water-energy-climate storm and is currently on alert for potential electricity disruption.
With the past two years bringing less than normal levels of rainfall, on top of unusually cold winter weather causing later spring snow-melt runoff, Norway’s aquifers and reservoirs are having an especially difficult time being replenished. As reported by Reuters:
Overall, water reservoirs that feed Norway’s hydro-plants are only 20.6 percent full, compared with an average of 44.3 percent for this time of the year…
Sweden’s reservoirs are even emptier — 14.9 percent against a long-term average of 34.9 percent — but it is less dependent than Norway on hydro-power…
Aas (director of the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate – or NVE) said the situation would take time to resolve itself as the reservoirs need to fill up to their normal levels again…
“The last time the reservoirs were very low, in 2003, we needed two to three years to fill them up again … But if there is no big damage, we will have enough electricity this year.”
Not a good situation for a country running off of approximately 98% hydroelectricity. In addition to pressures of depleted water supply limiting Norway’s hydroelectricity, additional pressures on the import of supplementary foreign electricity have been felt by the closure of seven nuclear plants for safety testing in Germany following the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear disaster in Japan.
What does all of this spell for Norway? Significantly increased costs of electricity (and hopefully water as well) for one. The NVE reported that just last week the prices of electricity increased by 11%. In addition to higher cost of electricity, Norway has had to shut down of several gas processing plants, and may potentially begin imposing power rationing on large national electricity users.1
What we can learn from this more than unfortunate water-energy-climate nexus problem facing Norway, is that we should be reluctant to put all our eggs in one basket (98% national power generation from hydropower). Also we can take away the knowledge that water-energy-climate nexus issues aren’t just a bunch of hoo-haw about global warming, but ultimately are issues that can drastically affect a country’s industries and economy as a whole.
We must be kind to our water resources and never expect that they will always be there.
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