National Center for Computational Sciences

Wilbanks says now is time to figure out how to adapt to changes in energy needs

The first comprehensive look at the impact of climate change on U.S. energy use and production was released Thursday in Washington, and an Oak Ridge scientist was in the spotlight.

Tom Wilbanks, a corporate fellow and distinguished scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was lead author of the report — the third in a series of 21 reports to address the current knowledge and identify research needs on climate issues. Wilbanks took part in a Department of Energy press briefing.

In a telephone interview from Washington earlier this week, Wilbanks said the report has attracted a lot of attention, even though it’s not overly controversial or eyebrow-raising.

“The bottom line is climate change raises some concerns about the energy sector in the United States, but there’s no reason to be alarmist at this point,” Wilbanks said.

While the changes are likely to occur gradually, now is the time to address some of the risks and vulnerabilities and figure out how to adapt, he said.

“Clearly, if the climate gets warmer, we’re going to need more (energy) for cooling and less for warming,” the scientist said.

That will put more demand on electricity, which is used for cooling, as opposed to other fuel sources involved in heating, Wilbanks said.

Stronger storms can put additional pressures on power supplies and pose greater risks to energy infrastructure, which may need to be hardened or relocated, he said.

“We found out with (Hurricane) Katrina what that might mean for infrastructure in coastal areas,” Wilbanks said.

Also, less snowfall and snowpack in the mountains of the West will affect hydroelectric production and potentially reduce the water supplies for agriculture and other needs, he said.

At this point, there are still plenty of unresolved questions about climate changes — especially on a regional basis, Wilbanks said.

Future changes in wind patterns and cloud cover could have significant impacts on some of the renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, but they’re difficult to define, he said.

“We wish we could say more,” Wilbanks said. “In the meantime, we need to come up with answers (to questions) we can’t answer now.”

ORNL is one of the leading U.S. research labs studying climate change, and Wilbanks said he expects that role to continue and perhaps grow.

“ORNL is trying to position itself as the lead laboratory for ‘consequence’ research on climate change,” he said. “We are DOE’s lead laboratory on that right now.”

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.

Source: KnoxNews
By: Frank Munger