How drought threatens the power grid

Your guide to the political forces shaping the energy transformation

Aug 17, 2022 View in browser   By Arianna Skibell The white "bathtub ring" on the rocks shows Lake Mead's dwindling water supply. | Ethan Miller/Getty Images The nation's increasingly dire water crisis is also threatening the power supply. Generating electricity takes a lot of water and not just when it comes to hydroelectric dams. Water is crucial for cooling power plants — especially during record heat waves. Plus it takes a lot of energy to extract, purify and deliver water. Plummeting water levels in vast swaths of the country from drought and overuse are pushing the grid to the brink during a record hot summer that has sent power demand soaring. Last month, dwindling water flow cut the Hoover Dam's power generation capacity nearly in half. And the future outlook is not good. The megadrought in the West is drying up the Colorado River at an astounding rate and draining Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the country's largest reservoirs. Lake Mead powers the Hoover Dam, which can produce enough electricity for about 1.3 million people every year in California, Arizona and Nevada. Lake Powell fuels the Glen Canyon Dam, which generates slightly more than half that amount. Now, the seven states that rely on the Colorado River must come up with a plan to save 2 million to 4 million acre-feet of water. (Four million acre-feet is enough water to submerge D.C. about 90 feet deep.) But dividing the pain of a diminished water supply is proving challenging, and the Biden administration has imposed modest cuts while allowing negotiations to go into overtime. The megadrought is not confined to the Colorado River. Parts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island are experiencing extreme drought. And 50 percent of the lower 48 states are suffering drought as well. Wells are drying up in California, which is experiencing the driest 22-year stretch in more than 1,200 years. Farmers are either paying a premium for water or letting their fields sit empty. Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom this month outlined a plan to address looming reductions to the state's water supplies, unveiling proposals that would expand desalination and increase water reuse and recycling. But the proposal has faced some opposition from groups that say it fails to take the necessary steps of curbing water use by agriculture companies and gas power plants.   It's Wednesday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Arianna Skibell.  Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to askibell@eenews.net. Today in POLITICO Energy's podcast: Catherine Morehouse explains why Republican governors have protested the Inflation Reduction Act despite the clear benefit it will provide to their states. Trends Spotted by David Zipper, a visiting fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School: an electric mail delivery tricycle in Canada. Last year, Canada Post rolled out e-bikes in a Montreal pilot program. The bikes delivered 2,100 parcels and traveled over 800 miles. Power Centers A wind turbine generating electricity off the coast of Rhode Island. | John Moore/Getty Images Wind power perils Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said Biden's new climate bill will breathe new life into the wind industry and trigger a larger boom, writes David Iaconangelo.  But three recent DOE reports detail ongoing problems that have acted as a drag on the industry's growth. Read the story here. Do we need that gas? A natural gas pipeline developer is seeking federal permission to built a new pipeline in the Northeast at a time when states are trying to move away from fossil fuel, write Niina H. Farah and Miranda Willson. The proposal could test the Biden administration's approach to scrutinizing demand for new natural gas infrastructure. Here's the story. Winter pains Global gas prices are soaring as Europe braces for a possible Russian fuel shut-off and countries race to fill underground storage facilities before winter, writes America Hernandez. Gazprom, the Russian gas export monopoly, warned that "according to conservative estimates," prices could jump a further 60 percent from current levels by winter. Read more here. In Other News The John Hancock Tower in Boston, Massachusetts. | Darren McCollester/Getty Images Fossil-free Beantown: Boston is seeking to ban fossil fuels from new building projects and major renovations. Injustice: How U.S. corporations poisoned this Indigenous community. Question Corner The science, policy and politics driving the energy transition can feel miles away. But we're all affected on an individual and communal level — from hotter days and higher gas prices to home insurance rates and food supply. Want to know more? Send me your questions and I'll get you answers. Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. Workers cleaning up oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill. | Petty Officer 3rd Class Patrick Kelley/US Coast Guard Cleaning up the Deepwater Horizon oil spill put workers at increased risk for developing asthma. A federal court ruled the Biden administration can resume pausing oil and gas leasing. Duke Energy Corp. is exploring the possibility of using Ford's F-150 Lightning electric truck as an alternative to firing up little-used power plants. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.   Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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