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Impacts of, and adaptation options to, extreme weather events and climate change concerning thermal power plants

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Abstract

Extreme weather events and changed climate parameters have impacts on power plants and their connected infrastructures. Therefore, adaptation, especially in the context of a changing climate and a resulting shift in the intensity and frequency of extreme events, is necessary. Thermal power plants are subject to a diversity of extreme weather impacts, making them vulnerable if not adapted. In this paper, the impacts of extreme weather events on thermal power plants are first identified and structured. Then selected adaptation options for thermal power plants are presented. Three major types of adaptation option are identified: adaptation of cooling, infrastructure, and sites. The Supplementary Material introduces a GIS-based (Geographic Information System) decision-support tool for power plant adaptation and planning.

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Notes

  1. Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies: Supporting European Climate Policy

  2. with a current exchange rate of 1 € ≈ 1.3 USD the costs amount up to 3.2 USD/kW

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  1. European Institute for Energy Research (EIFER), Emmy-Noether-Strasse 11, 76131, Karlsruhe, Germany

    Jeannette Sieber

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  1. Jeannette Sieber
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Correspondence to Jeannette Sieber.

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This article is part of the Special Issue on “Climate Change, Extremes, and Energy Systems.”

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Sieber, J. Impacts of, and adaptation options to, extreme weather events and climate change concerning thermal power plants. Climatic Change 121, 55–66 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-013-0915-0

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