Energy-Water Nexus: OverviewVincent Tidwell and Michael Hightower

Sandia National LaboratoriesAlbuquerque, New Mexico

Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin company, for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under

contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.

Southwest Renewable Energy ConferenceSanta Fe, New Mexico

September 15, 2010

Water for Energy

Water production, processing, distribution, and end-use requires energy

Energy for Water

• Thermoelectric Cooling

• Energy Minerals Extraction/Mining

• Fuel Processing (fossil fuels, H2,biofuels)

• Emission Control

Energy and power production requires water

• Pumping• Conveyance• Treatment• Distribution• Use

Conditioning

Estimated Freshwater Withdrawals by Sector: 320 BGD

Livestock2%

Thermoelectric39%

Irrigation39%

Public Supply14%

Industrial6%

Note: Hydropower and saline water uses are not included here!

Source: USGS Circular 1268, March, 2004

48% of total daily water withdrawals

U.S. Freshwater Consumption, 100 Bgal/day

Livestock3.3%

Thermoelectric3.3%

Commercial1.2%

Domestic7.1%

Industrial3.3%

Mining1.2%Irrigation

80.6%Source: Solley et al., 1998

U.S. Freshwater Consumption:100 BGD

Thermoelectric Water Consumption in the Continental United States: 2004

MGD

Total Water Consumption in the United States: 2004

MGD

Energy and Water Tomorrow

70 million more people by 2030

Projected Population Growth

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

Year

Ele

ctr

icit

y C

on

su

mp

tio

n

( b

illi

on

kW

h)

Projected Growth in Electric Power Generation

Source: EIA 2004

Projected Growth in non-Ag Water Consumption

New Generation Capacity Under Business as Usual

• 350 new 400 Mw coal-fired plants

• 150 new 100 Mw gas turbine plants

• 5 new 1000 Mw nuclear plants

• 125 new 200 Mw wind/solar plants

89% of new electric power generation capacity is projected to be thermoelectric-based

Source: NETL 2006

Cooling Technology ScenariosThermoelectric Water Use

150000

170000

190000

210000

230000

250000

Year

MG

D

Base

No New Once Through

No New or Retro OnceThrough

Thermoelectric Water Consumption

3000

3500

4000

4500

5000

5500

Year

MD

G

Base

No New Once Through

No New or Retro OnceThrough

Current Mix

Current Mix

• Current mix has the highest water use, 236.1 BGD in 2030 and lowest water consumption, 4.3 BGD.

• Recirculating cooling towers in all new construction and recommissioned plants has the lowest water use, 184.8 BGD but highest

consumption,5.0BGD.

Oil Shale development will be regional and impact water availability and quality

• Reserves are in areas of limited water resources

• Water needed for retorting, steam flushing, and cooling up to 3 gallons per gallon of fuel

• Concerns over in situ migration of retort by-products and impact on ground water quality

Gas Shale development could be extensive and impact water availability

and quality • Water is used in

drilling, completion, and fracturing

• Up to 3 million gallons of water is needed per well

• Water recovery can be 20% to 70%

• Recovered water quality varies – from 10,000 ppm TDS to 100,000 ppm TDS

• Recovered water is commonly injected into deep wells

Joint project conducted by GM and Sandia National Laboratories is the first true value-chain

approach to future large-scale biofuels • Purpose: Assess feasibility, implications, limitations, and enablers of

producing 90 billion gallons ethanol (~60 billion gallons of gasoline-equivalent) per year by 2030– Ethanol used to illustrate biofuel potential without ruling out alternatives

• Scope: Focus on ethanol production from residues and energy crops for 2006 to 2030; corn ethanol capped at 15B gallons per year under 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA); cellulosic ethanol production accelerated beyond EISA to enable 90B gallons total production.

DistributionConversionStorage and TransportFeedstock

No land use change for residues

equals 2006 corn ethanol acreage

37 M acres cropland as pasture and idle cropland

37 M acres non-grazed forest land

2030 land use

Biofuel Water Use

Water Use for Irrigation

Water Use for Conversion

Projected Increase in Non-Thermoelectric Water Consumption 2004-2030

MGD

Exploring the Nexus

1-2

2-10 >10

SupplyGW Pumping

Ratio of Sustainable Recharge to Groundwater Pumping: 2004

Exploring the Nexus

1-2

2-10 >10

SupplyConsumption

Ratio of Mean Stream Flow to Total Water Consumption:2004

Exploring the Nexus

1-2

2-10 >10

SupplyConsumption

Ratio of 5th Percentile Stream Flow (Low Flow) to Total Water Consumption: 2004

Exploring the Nexus

<1

1-1.25 >1.25

Mean FlowEnv. Flow

Ratio of Mean Stream Flow to Environmental Flow Requirements: 2004

Counties Meeting Siting Requirements

• Siting requirements– Supply vs. demand ratio above 5– At least one power plant sited in county in 2004– No more than 5 new plants sited in any one

county

20302004

Power at Risk due to Low Flow

GWh

Power at Risk at 5th Percentile Stream Flow : 2004

Non-traditional Water Resource Availability

Saline Aquifers Oil and Gas Produced Water

Growing Use of Non-Traditional Water Resources

• Desal growing at 10% per year, waste water reuse at 15% per year

• Reuse not accounted for in USGS assessments• Non-traditional water use is energy intensive

(Modified from Water Reuse 2007, EPA 2004, Mickley 2003)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Kw

h/m

^3

1 2 3 4 5

Sea WaterRO

Today The Future

ConventionalTreatment

BrackishRO

BrackishNF

Power Requirements For Treating

(Einfeld 2007)

Energy for Water

0

3

60

660

GWh

Projected Increase in Demand for Electricity due to Growing Demand for Water: 2004-2030

Contact: Vincent TidwellSandia National LaboratoriesPO Box 5800; MS 0735Albuquerque, NM 87185(505)844-6025vctidwe@sandia.gov

More Information at:

www.sandia.gov/energy-water