Report: Climate change will cause 'severe' US electricity crisis in near future
Climate change will have "severe impacts" on electricity usage in the United States, according to a new report from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Scientists from around the world have long predicted many of the climate change effects that Earth is currently experiencing, including glaciers shrinking, record high temperatures, more intense storm systems and changing ecosystems. But a new report predicts that in addition to those environmental effects, climate change also will have a major impact on global economies and energy consumption.
Related: Climate change impacting Patagonia's massive glaciers
The growing number of record-hot days will push energy consumption to new limits in the U.S. and around the world as more and more people crank up the air conditioning.
The new PNAS study finds that as the frequency of peak consumption days continues to increase, the United States's electrical grid will be more and more strained.
The U.S., currently the second largest producer and consumer of electricity in the world, will need to make "additional investments in peak generation capacity, transmission or storage" in order to meet that electrical demand. PNAS estimates those peak generation capacity costs could be up to $180 billion by the end of the century.
SEE ALSO: Climate change, health care disappear from White House website
The PNAS findings confirm a previously published report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that reported global warming could likely cause an increasing in electricity consumption by the U.S.
The report analyzed regional daily temperature data and regional electrical production and consumption data from around the country on peak load days when Americans are using the most electricity. Scientists were then able to use past high-frequency data and weather predictions to simulate America's future electricity demands.
