Climate Change & Risks to Coastal Energy Infrastructure

11/17/20223 min read

The rise in sea levels and increased frequency, intensity, and duration of extreme weather events, all attributable to climate change, can lead to flooding and erosion, which in turn negatively impacts coastal energy infrastructure (Brown et al 2014). Coastal energy infrastructure includes oil, gas, liquefied natural gas (“LNG”), and tanker terminals, as well as nuclear power stations.

The University of Liverpool has developed the Adaptation and Resilience of Coastal Energy Supply coastal flood risk map decision support tool (the “DST”), a data visualisation tool the purpose of which is to enable strategic decision-making. The DST comprises a map-viewer, animations, and the underlying data used to generate the visualisations of various flood map scenarios. By the use of flood modelling tools, these scenarios illustrate potential flood risks, arising from storms and sea level rise, for populated coastlands.

The map-viewer, for example, presents scenarios pertaining to the Bradwell, Hinkley Point, and Sizewell nuclear power stations in the United Kingdom (“UK”). The Bradwell station is located on the south-eastern coast of England where the North Sea meets the English Channel. Just north of Bradwell along the coast is the Sizewell B station. Hinkley Point is situated on the south-western coast of England . Notably, the UK has three times as many coastal energy facilities as any other country in Europe (Brown et al 2014).

The DST is fairly easy to click through even for users without scientific knowledge and, being free and open to the public, obviates the need to incur software costs (Knight et al 2015). Further, its open-source nature means it can be used, explored, and developed by other users freely (Knight et al 2015). However, one limitation of the DST is the absence of consideration of how shorelines are likely to transform (Brown et al 2018).

Sea level rise and more frequent extreme climate events, causing flooding and erosion, act together to potentially destroy existing facilities and thereby distort the supply, transportation, and storage processes of coastal energy infrastructure (Brown et al 2014). It is projected that relative sea level rise in Europe could exceed 1 metre by 2100 (Brown et al 2014). For sites such as Sizewell and Bradwell, their proximity to the North Sea could mean longer and taller wave heights. Flooding and erosion could damage nuclear facilities by seepage, breakage, or collapsing foundations, and by causing disturbances to the supply of water needed to cool nuclear reactors.

As of 2007, in the energy consumption portfolio of 27 European Union member states, nuclear power contributed 13.4% (Brown et al 2014; EEA 2010).

Nuclear sites are particularly problematic in these scenarios because of the presence of hazardous materials such as radioactive waste, often requiring minimum storage periods of several years prior to disposal. Most low-level and short-lived intermediate-level waste radioactive waste is disposed at near-surface levels (WNA 2021), which increases the risk of exposure to flooding and erosion events.

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