Low Rhine Water Levels Risk Worsening Europe’s Energy Crunch
- River at key chokepoint is at lowest seasonal level in years
- Barges unable to load coal for power plants at full capacity
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Water levels on Europe’s Rhine River are again dwindling -- and this time it’s at the risk of the continent’s efforts to boost its energy security.
A heatwave has reduced parts of the river, western Europe’s most important waterway, to the lowest seasonal levels in at least 15 years. That could affect the delivery of everything from coal to oil products as the region races to stockpile energy supplies ahead of winter.