ABSTRACT
Hydropower and thermoelectric (nuclear and fossil-fueled) power plants currently contribute to more than 91% of total electricity production in Europe. At present, 74% of total electricity supply is generated by thermoelectric power plants and 17% by hydropower plants (EIA, accessed 2013 for year 2010). The European energy sector therefore strongly depends on the availability of water resources for hydropower generation, and also on the temperatures of water for cooling of thermoelectric power plants. In particular coal-fired and nuclear power plants rely on large volumes of water for cooling. The thermoelectric power sector is compared to other
sectors (e.g. agriculture, industry, domestic use) the largest water user in Europe, accounting for about 43% of total surface water withdrawal (EUREAU 2009).
