water for energy: connections, collisions, and opportunities

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Water for Energy:

Connections, Collisions, and Opportunities

Camille CalimlimWater and Power Subcommittee, U.S. House of Representatives

John RogersEnergy and Water in a Warming World initiative, Union of Concerned Scientists

C. Adam SchlosserCenter for Global Change Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Power plants

and water?

• Withdrawals:

60–170 billion

gal/day

• Consumption

(evaporation):

3–6 billion

gal/day

Flic

kr/

Will

iam

s_Jt

Source: EW3 2011

+ cooling ponds

+ dry cooling

• Electricity’s water

profile

• Gaps and errors

• Water stress

• Opportunities

Longview News-Journal/Kevin Green

Flickr/Siemens

Water Withdrawals

Freshwater

Intensity

Sources of

Cooling

Water

Why It

Matters

(Sample)

Flickr/Andy Shapiro


Water for Energy:





Energy and Water:

Connection and Conflict

Camille Calimlim Touton

Subcommittee on Water and Power

Hydrologic State of the Union

NASA’s Blue Marble taken on January 24, 2012 . Image Credit: NASA/NOAA/GSFC/Suomi NPP/VIIRS/Norman Kuring

Hydrologic State of the Union

August 2, 2012 Drought Monitor. Source: http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/monitor.html

Location of Power Plant, Water Withdrawals,

and Cooling Technologies on U.S. Drought Levels

Source: Union of Concerned Scientists (2011), Freshwater Use by U.S. Power Plants: Electricity’s Thirst for a Precious Resource;

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2012/07/us/drought/index.html

Current and Future Water Intensive

Oil & Gas Development

Potential oil shale

development in the

Colorado River

Basin.

North Dakota: Oil

Boom in the Bakken

Formation using

hydraulic fracturing.

Texas: Largest oil and gas producer in

the nation, in a multi-year drought.

Water needed for enhanced oil

recovery from older fields, hydraulic

fracturing for oil and natural gas.

Heat and Drought Related Collisions

Source: UCS Report, Power and Water at Risk

For more information, visit www.ucsusa.org/power-water-risk.

Future Trends

• By 2035, U.S. primary energy consumption is projected to increase an additional 9% over 2010 levels, which will also require additional water use.

• Over 85% of our electric power is still projected to come from nuclear and fossil-fueled power plants in 2035.

• In addition, water-intensive oil and natural gas production from unconventional sources in the United States is increasing rapidly due to technological advances in the industry.

• The energy sector is the fastest-growing water consumer in the United States. Studies predict that the energy sector will be responsible for 85% of the growth in water consumption between 2005 and 2030.

Solutions

• Increasing development of water-free energy technologies

such as renewables.

• Increasing efficiency of energy and water systems, stretch

local water supplies.

• Exploring alternative water sources for electricity

generation.

• Innovative financing for the solutions.

• Encouraging investment in innovation.

Recent Committee Reports

Links to both reports can be found on our website: http://democrats.naturalresources.house.gov/


Water for Energy:





Freshwater in Thermoelectric Cooling:Implications of Renewable Energy and Climate

Freshwater in Thermoelectric Cooling:Implications of Renewable Energy and Climate

C. Adam Schlosser

UCS Webinar: Water for Energy - Connections, Collisions, and Opportunities

C. Adam Schlosser

UCS Webinar: Water for Energy - Connections, Collisions, and Opportunities

http://globalchange.mit.edu/


Renewable Electricity Futures Study (2012). Hand, M.M.; Baldwin, S.; DeMeo, E.; Reilly, J.M.; Mai, T.; Arent, D.; Porro, G.; Meshek, M.; Sandor, D., editors. Lead authors include Mai, T.; Sandor, D.; Wiser, R.; Heath, G.; Augustine, C.; Bain, R.; Chapman, J.; Denholm, P.; Drury, E.; Hall, D.; Lantz, E.; Margolis, R.; Thresher, R.; Hostick, D.; Belzer, D.; Hadley, S.; Markel, T.; Marnay, C.; Milligan, M.; Ela, E.; Hein, J.; Schneider, T. NREL/PR-6A20-56040

A U.S. DOE-sponsored collaboration among more than 110 individuals from 35 organizations.


Modeling Framework


REF80 Scenario Framework


REF80 Transformation of Electricity

Generation


Modeling Water Withdrawal and Consumption for Electricity Generation in the United States

Modeling Water Withdrawal and Consumption for Electricity Generation in the United States: Strzepek, K., J. Baker, W. Farmer, and C. Adam Schlosser (June 2012)&Joint Program Report Series, 46 pages, 2012


Water Use Factors in Cooling

• Generally speaking – specific water use lower for renewable technologies as compared to thermal generation technologies.

• Water use factors representative of U.S. electricity generation technologies in operation today.

Renewable Technologies

Withdrawal (gal/MWh) Consumptive Loss (gal/MWh)


Achieving 80% Renewable Energy Penetration

Reduces Power-Sector Water Use by ~50%

Withdrawal Consumptive Loss

• Water use factors held constant at U.S. electricity generation technologies in operation today.

• Concentrated solar and geothermal power assumes dry cooling.


Achieving 80% Renewable Energy Penetration

Reduces Power-Sector Water Use by ~50% Change in 2050 water consumption between 80% RE Cost-H and

(Low-Demand) Baseline Scenarios

• Shaded areas represent regions under “water stress” (mean withdrawal exceeds 60% of annual runoff).

• Changes depicted do not consider climate changes.


Cooling Capacity and Hydro-climatic Change

• Changes in regional temperature, precipitation, and the resulting hydrology (i.e. streamflow) have a quantifiable impact on our ability to cool and generate.

• Projecting regional climate changes present unavoidable uncertainties, which must be translated into risk assessments.

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

80.0%

dQ -20% dQ -10% dQ 0% dQ 10% dQ 20%

Pe

rce

nt

of

Pla

nt

Ca

pa

city

(%

)

Electricity Generated as Percent of Plant

Capacity, 1.115 GW

dT 0 C

dT 1 C

dT 2 C

dT 3 C

dT 4 C

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

dQ -20% dQ -10% dQ 0% dQ 10% dQ 20%

Nu

mb

er

of

Day

s

Number of Days (out of 62)

Above Temp. Constraint

dT 0 C

dT 1 C

dT 2 C

dT 3 C

dT 4 C

Schlosser et al., 2012

Strzepek et al., 2012 (forthcoming)


Water for Energy:





Toward a

Water-smart

Energy Future

• New plants

• Existing plants

• Guidelines

• Stakeholders

• CO2 Fernando Arce-Larreta

BrightSource Energy

Flickr/cm195902

Flickr/Pixor

Texas Parks and Wildlife

Fernando Arce-Larreta

BrightSource Energy

Flickr/cm195902

Flickr/Pixor


Toward a

Water-smart

Energy Future?

John Rogers, Union of Concerned Scientists

Co-manager, Energy and Water in a Warming World initiative

[email protected]

ucsusa.org/ew3

Camille Calimlim, U.S. House of Representatives

Committee staff, Water and Power Subcommittee,

[email protected]

democrats.naturalresources.house.gov

C. Adam Schlosser, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

principal research scientist, assistant director of science research in the Center for Global Change Science

[email protected]

globalchange.mit.edu

Ecologypress.com

water for energy: connections, collisions, and opportunities

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