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When the River Runs Hot
What happens when the water a power plant depends on for cooling becomes too hot or too scarce to do its job?
In this episode of The Climate Translation, Dr. Mac explores the hidden connection between electricity and water. Many nuclear, coal, and natural-gas power plants rely on rivers, lakes, reservoirs, or oceans to carry away enormous amounts of waste heat. But during heat waves, that cooling water can become less effective, and environmental limits may force plants to reduce output rather than return dangerously warm water to nearby ecosystems.
The episode also looks at what happens when…
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