Many European countries, including Italy, France and Spain, are facing severe droughts this summer, causing reduction in energy supplies from hydro, nuclear and solar sources.
Data from Norwegian consulting agency Rystad Energy said that in the first seven months this year in Europe, electricity generated by hydropower has dropped by 20 percent from the same period last year, and the power from nuclear sources has reduced 12 percent.
High temperatures across Europe have led to the lack of water in rivers and reservoirs, which significantly reduced the ability of hydro facilities to generate power.
In Italy, the hydropower, accounting for 20 percent of the country’s total electricity production, dropped by 40 percent in the past 12 months.
In Spain, the electricity generated by moving water has also gone down by 44 percent.
Analysts from Rystad Energy said that although the hydropower can be volatile, a 40-percent drop is still “absolutely extreme.”
The heatwave is also affecting nuclear power plants as the river water used to cool nuclear reactors is too hot, which limits nuclear power generation in France.
The high temperature is also hitting power output from solar sources, as the technology in solar panel works less well in high temperature, and the exposure to the big sun shortens the service life of solar panels.
(Reuters)
