What are the Effects of Drought in Electricity Production?
According to the analysis of the International Energy Agency, water is necessary for every stage of energy and electricity production. Energy facilities draw 340 billion cubic meters of water each year and consume an average of 50 billion cubic meters of water. Since dams and thermal power plants, which are electricity generation facilities, use water or water vapor power for electricity generation, drought directly affects electricity production.
What Level of Drought in Our Country?
The threat of drought in our country has reached a serious level and continues to intensify due to reasons such as decreased precipitation, excessive urbanization, and failure to protect green areas. As of November 2020, the precipitation rate in our country decreased by 49%. Drought has started to pose a serious threat as the average precipitation amount remains below the average until the beginning of 2021. According to experts, the total amount of water in the dams in the three biggest cities of our country is enough to meet our water needs for only a few months. The drought has reached a critical level as unconscious consumption continues and there is no increase in the amount of precipitation.
How Does Drought Affect Electricity Production?
Water is necessary for every stage of energy and electricity production. According to the analysis of the International Energy Agency, energy facilities draw 340 billion cubic meters of water every year and consume an average of 50 billion cubic meters of water. Since dams and thermal power plants, which are electricity generation facilities, use water or water vapor power for electricity generation, drought affects electricity production directly and negatively. 35% of our country's electricity needs are met from thermal power plants, and the most water is drawn by thermal power plants among the mentioned power generation facilities. In addition, since the potential energy of water is used in dams, which are important electricity generation sources, the decrease in the water level directly affects the electricity production in the dams.
Since power generation facilities heat up more in hot weather, extra water is needed to cool the facilities. Therefore, electricity generation facilities built near a water source such as a river or lake are seriously affected by drought, operate at low performance due to drought, and cannot provide sufficient energy when needed most. This situation shows that drought affects electricity production directly and negatively, and if drought continues, depleted water resources will affect electricity production more and more negatively.
How Drought Affects Electricity Needs?
Drought is one of the factors that directly affect our electricity needs, such as electricity production. The increase in drought causes a decrease in precipitation and a serious warming of the air. People use irrigation systems for irrigation activities when there is no precipitation. This means extra electricity expense. In addition, with the warming of the weather due to drought, people start to use cooling systems to cool off, and this causes an increase in electricity consumption. In other words, while drought reduces electricity production, it causes an increase in our electricity consumption. The increase in the need for electricity while the electricity production decreases means that we will encounter an increase in electricity prices. By saving energy and water consumption, we can benefit both nature and our budget.