Arceral, Norway — A Nordic land famous for its rugged fjords, where water is almost a way of life. Sverr Eikelund shrunk through the rocks forming the walls of one of Norway’s major reservoirs and passed driftwood sticking out like something got stuck. It stood on the tooth of a dam, and on dry land that should have been deeply submerged.
“You can see a strip of vegetation stopping,” says Eikelund, 43, chief operating officer of Agdel Energy, pointing to a desolate, dry line 50 feet above the surface of the Skjerkevatn Reservoir. said. “The water level should be there.”
“We are not used to drought,” he adds with a shrug. “I need water.”
It was a hot and droughty summer across Europe, affecting almost every part of the economy, even in the normally cooler regions. This phenomenon is exacerbated by man-made climate change. France is suffering from massive wildfires and its Loire Valley is so dry that the river can be crossed on foot. Germany’s Rhine is partly inches deep, paralyzing vital commerce and stalling riverboat cruises. Italy is at its driest since her 1800, and producers of the iconic rice used for risotto are in danger of losing their crops.
But perhaps the drought’s most surprising effects may be seen in Norway’s normally waterlogged south. There, sheep are stranded on bare mud banks and salmon lack enough water to migrate upstream. The supply of hydropower reservoirs, responsible for his 90% of Norway’s electricity and power exports to neighboring countries, has plunged to its lowest level in 25 years, causing a shortage that has sparked both prices and political tensions.
The combination of extreme heat and devastating drought in the summer, along with the weaponization of Russian natural gas exports in response to European Union sanctions over the war in Ukraine, has pushed Europe in unexpected places and in unexpected ways. energy system vulnerabilities were exposed.
In France, a warming river threatens the use of nuclear reactors. In Germany, the Rhine is too low to transport the coal the country relies on to make up for lost Russian gas. And in the UK, her driest July in nearly 90 years left London, igniting wildfires around it. Thousands of northern homes without electricity.
“We call it a total storm,” said Stefan Siversen, chief executive of Agder Energy, before urging the country to discuss what local media are now dubbing the “energy crisis.” He said he was in nearby Arendal, where many political and industrial leaders had gathered. , a reconsideration of power export agreements with the European Union and the United Kingdom, or new subsidies to Norwegians to ease skyrocketing prices.
In addition to Russia’s gas cuts, surges in demand as the economy emerges from the pandemic, failure to add other renewables such as wind to its energy portfolio, and the worst drought in years have pushed Norwegian power Prices have reached record levels. populated south.
Norway is eager to integrate into the European market, but the resource-rich country, a major exporter of gas and oil, is under pressure to keep more of its energy. But the best way to get energy security is to become independent from Russian gas as soon as possible,” Sibertsen said. “But it’s a big job.”
On Tuesday, Chancellor Jonas Gahr told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during a visit to Oslo that Norway would keep its promise to supply electricity to the EU market but would spare no additional gas exports.
Europe moving away from fossil fuels
The European Union has started the transition to greener forms of energy. However, financial and geopolitical considerations can complicate efforts.
And Germany needs more gas. A severe drought has reignited talk of investing in nuclear power and dried up the waterways vital to transporting coal.
Germany’s coal-fired power plants dot the banks of the Rhine from Duisburg in the west to Karlsruhe near France, but because of shallow waters, large coal carriers carry only about a third of their capacity. I can’t.
Last week, utility giant Uniper announced it would have to reduce output at two of its coal-fired power plants. This is because the Rhine does not have enough coal to reach its full potential.
On Wednesday, water levels on the Rhine River in Emmerich am Rhein, just above the Dutch border, dropped below zero, breaking the record set in October 2018. The Rhine must stop to unload coal and continue with a lighter load. Smaller boats have tried to take up the slack and have clogged the channels.
“There are more ships on the quay,” said Pascal van Berk, a dispatcher at the Orsay coal port just north of Duisburg. There, a sprinkler system runs his 24-hour operation to control coal dust, and workers load and transport coal in his 150 vehicles. Take it to an already overloaded rail yard. “I have a lot more to do.”
France’s worst drought on record saw nuclear power plants, which provide more than 70% of the country’s electricity, temporarily shut down to avoid releasing dangerously warm water into rivers. It also damaged the country’s energy production because it had to stop.
Many of France’s 56 nuclear power plants had already shut down due to maintenance problems. But the rivers that cool the reactors have become so hot as a result of the heatwave that strict rules designed to protect wildlife prevent even warmer water from flowing back into the waterways from the plants. .
French nuclear regulators this month granted a temporary waiver to allow five power plants to continue to discharge hot water into rivers from what they called a “public need”.
In England, extreme heat turning green fields into straw power grid operator Hire more workers amid fears of power shortages.
In Norway, a snow-free winter and a very dry spring, including the driest April in 122 years, have led to lower water levels in lakes and rivers. Due to the shallow waters of Lake Mjosa, Oslo’s largest lake, the famous paddle-wheeler Ski Bradner moored in the harbor, and Oslo city officials told people to shower less and avoid watering the lawns. A text urging him to send his message.
“Do it for Oslo,” read the text message. In May, Statnett SF, the operator of the national electricity grid, warned of the shortage.
But the skies have not brought relief, and this month the country’s hydropower reservoirs, especially in the south, approached levels that Energy Minister Terje Asland called “very low” levels, prompting hydropower operators to wait for the coming winter. We have reduced the output to save water.
The reservoir was about 60% full, about 10% less than the average over the past 20 years, according to energy regulator data.
With more than a third of the country’s reservoirs, southern Norway is dotted with green fields dotted with red barns and fishing boats along the coast. Like a relic from another era, a sign put up by an energy company on a stream in the Agder area warned that “water levels can rise suddenly and without warning.”
But recent months have shown that low water levels are also dangerous. For one, Rygene was so low that it forced a temporary shutdown of the plant. The rainstorms returned on Tuesday, but the ground was very dry, Eikelund said while surveying the basin. I drank up all the water,” and the water level in the reservoir barely rose.
He took the electric car further south to Kristiansand. In Kristiansand, a large power grid sent power to the south of the country and to Denmark. In the fenced area on the hill, a Norwegian industrial development company was building data centers for his Amazon and other customers. Amazon consumes a significant portion of locally produced electricity to cool its servers, a giant computer.
This year’s drought has only highlighted the urgent need for a broader energy transformation, Eikelund said.
“The drought shows that we are not ready for big changes,” he said.
The report was contributed by Christopher F. Schutze from Germany, constant meheux from France, Gaia Pianigiani from Italy, Isabella Kwai from London and henrik pricer liber Originally from Norway.