Water for Energy: Connections, Collisions, and Opportunities
Transcript of 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
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
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/
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
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/
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.
http://globalchange.mit.edu/
Modeling Framework
http://globalchange.mit.edu/
REF80 Scenario Framework
http://globalchange.mit.edu/
REF80 Transformation of Electricity
Generation
http://globalchange.mit.edu/
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
http://globalchange.mit.edu/
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)
http://globalchange.mit.edu/
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.
http://globalchange.mit.edu/
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.
http://globalchange.mit.edu/
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.
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rce
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pa
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(%
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Electricity Generated as Percent of Plant
Capacity, 1.115 GW
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dT 1 C
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dT 4 C
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Above Temp. Constraint
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Schlosser et al., 2012
Strzepek et al., 2012 (forthcoming)
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
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
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Toward a
Water-smart
Energy Future?
John Rogers, Union of Concerned Scientists
Co-manager, Energy and Water in a Warming World initiative
ucsusa.org/ew3
Camille Calimlim, U.S. House of Representatives
Committee staff, Water and Power Subcommittee,
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
globalchange.mit.edu
Ecologypress.com