Trend Climate change becomes a physical operating risk inside energy systems

Summary

Energy and climate were long handled as separate agendas, one about cutting atmospheric carbon and the other about secure fuel supply, but the two now collide on the same sites. Prolonged heatwaves drive up cooling demand while reducing the allowable current capacity of transmission lines. Drought lowers hydropower output, warmer rivers and seas cut the cooling efficiency of nuclear and thermal plants, and typhoons and wildfires directly threaten pylons and substations. Climate change is thus becoming a physical risk that acts on performance and operating conditions inside the energy system rather than an external pressure to decarbonize. Climate scenarios cited by the author project more frequent and more intense extreme weather in East Asia, including Korea. Because plants and grids were designed on past climate data, those design baselines are now being shaken.