Feed The Grid

The Panama Canal Authority says it has adopted several water-saving measures to help save energy as the Central American country faces a power shortage because of a lack of rain.

PANAMA CITY (AP) — The Panama Canal Authority said Wednesday it has adopted several water-saving measures to help save energy as the Central American country faces a power shortage because of a lack of rain.

PANAMA CITY - The Panama Canal Authority said Wednesday it has adopted several water-saving measures to help save energy as the Central American country faces a power shortage because of a lack of rain. It said it has suspended use of hydraulic assistance to help push ships out as they leave

Panama gets more than half of its energy from hydroelectric power and a lack of rain has hit the supply hard. Government officials said they had been forced to take the measures after previous drives to save energy had failed to make much difference.

Brazil, the second-biggest producer of hydroelectricity, is seeking to increase the use of fossil fuels after the worst drought in 50 years depleted reservoirs, underscoring a limit to renewable energy.

MEXICO CITY, May 7 (Reuters) - Panama on Tuesday ordered government offices and private businesses to slash their power consumption and temporarily closed schools in response to a drought that has sapped the country's hydroelectric energy supply.

For example, the Global Ethanol Inc. Riga facility near Blissfield was able to maintain its 46 employees through last year's drought but experienced declines in output, plant manager Bill Welever said. “The ethanol industry is highly dependent on the weather ...

New water rights have given tribes an upper hand over farmers just as the Klamath River basin plunges into a severe drought. KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. — For decades this rural basin has battled over the Klamath River's most precious resource: water that sustains fish, irrigates farms and powers the hydroelectric dams that block one of the largest salmon runs on the West Coast

Health officials say a warming climate and droughts have kicked up the dust that spreads the disease spores.

Unusually-cold spring weather is causing new concerns for Iowa’s delayed planting season; the 2012 drought depleted the nation’s reserves making this year’s crop a crucial one for global market exports, biofuel production and livestock farmers, according to the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF)

ADM Corn Processing with the new ethanol plant under construction left side of photo, US Highway 30 in foreground, southwest Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 8/30/08 aerial.

Editor's note: John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own. Water and energy are inextricably linked.

The on-going US drought is revealing the vulnerability of energy plants to a lack of water.        

Water and energy are inextricably linked. Power plants are the largest users of water in the United States, while substantial amounts of energy are needed to supply fresh water to homes, farms and factories ...