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Transitioning to zero freshwater withdrawal in the U.S. for thermoelectric generation

Author

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  • Tidwell, Vincent C.
  • Macknick, Jordan
  • Zemlick, Katie
  • Sanchez, Jasmine
  • Woldeyesus, Tibebe

Abstract

Drought poses important risks to thermoelectric power production in the United States because of the significant water use in this sector. Here a scoping level analysis is performed to identify the technical tradeoffs and initial cost estimates for retrofitting existing thermoelectric generation to achieve zero freshwater withdrawal and thus reduce drought related vulnerabilities. Specifically, conversion of existing plants to dry cooling or a wet cooling system utilizing non-potable water is considered. The least cost alternative is determined for each of the 1178 freshwater using power plants in the United States. The projected increase in levelized cost of electricity ranges roughly from $0.20 to $20/MWh with a median value of $3.53/MWh. With a wholesale price of electricity running about $35/MWh, many retrofits could be accomplished at levels that would add less than 10% to current power plant generation expenses. Such retrofits would alleviate power plant vulnerabilities to thermal discharge limits in times of drought (particularly in the East) and would save 3.2Mm3/d of freshwater consumption in watersheds with limited water availability (principally in the West). The estimated impact of retrofits on wastewater and brackish water supply is minimal requiring only a fraction of the available resource. Total parasitic energy requirements to achieve zero freshwater withdrawal are estimated at 140million MWh or roughly 4.5% of the total production from the retrofitted plants.

Suggested Citation

  • Tidwell, Vincent C. & Macknick, Jordan & Zemlick, Katie & Sanchez, Jasmine & Woldeyesus, Tibebe, 2014. "Transitioning to zero freshwater withdrawal in the U.S. for thermoelectric generation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 508-516.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:131:y:2014:i:c:p:508-516
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2013.11.028
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Peer, Rebecca A.M. & Sanders, Kelly T., 2018. "The water consequences of a transitioning US power sector," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 613-622.
    2. DeNooyer, Tyler A. & Peschel, Joshua M. & Zhang, Zhenxing & Stillwell, Ashlynn S., 2016. "Integrating water resources and power generation: The energy–water nexus in Illinois," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 363-371.
    3. Tidwell, Vincent C. & Gunda, Thushara & Gayoso, Natalie, 2021. "Plant-level characteristics could aid in the assessment of water-related threats to the electric power sector," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(PA).
    4. Yang, Chengying & Li, Mingming & Zhou, Dianyi, 2024. "Energy assessment in rural regions of China with various scenarios: Historical–to–futuristic," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 302(C).
    5. Hashemi, Seyed Mohsen & Tabarzadi, Mahdi & Fallahi, Farhad & Rostam Niakan Kalhori, Masoumeh & Abdollahzadeh, Davood & Qadrdan, Meysam, 2024. "Water and emission constrained generation expansion planning for Iran power system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).
    6. Srinivasan, Shweta & Kholod, Nazar & Chaturvedi, Vaibhav & Ghosh, Probal Pratap & Mathur, Ritu & Clarke, Leon & Evans, Meredydd & Hejazi, Mohamad & Kanudia, Amit & Koti, Poonam Nagar & Liu, Bo & Parik, 2018. "Water for electricity in India: A multi-model study of future challenges and linkages to climate change mitigation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 673-684.
    7. Kahsar, Rudy, 2020. "The potential for brackish water use in thermoelectric power generation in the American southwest," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    8. Pengbang Wei & Yufang Peng & Weidong Chen, 2022. "Climate change adaptation mechanisms and strategies of coal-fired power plants," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 27(8), pages 1-22, December.
    9. Hickman, William & Muzhikyan, Aramazd & Farid, Amro M., 2017. "The synergistic role of renewable energy integration into the unit commitment of the energy water nexus," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 220-229.
    10. Bukhary, Saria & Ahmad, Sajjad & Batista, Jacimaria, 2018. "Analyzing land and water requirements for solar deployment in the Southwestern United States," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 3288-3305.
    11. Gjorgiev, Blaže & Sansavini, Giovanni, 2018. "Electrical power generation under policy constrained water-energy nexus," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 568-579.
    12. Logan, Lauren H. & Stillwell, Ashlynn S., 2018. "Probabilistic assessment of aquatic species risk from thermoelectric power plant effluent: Incorporating biology into the energy-water nexus," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 434-450.
    13. Zhu, Xiaojie & Guo, Ruipeng & Chen, Bin & Zhang, Jing & Hayat, Tasawar & Alsaedi, Ahmed, 2015. "Embodiment of virtual water of power generation in the electric power system in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 345-354.
    14. Wiser, Ryan & Millstein, Dev & Mai, Trieu & Macknick, Jordan & Carpenter, Alberta & Cohen, Stuart & Cole, Wesley & Frew, Bethany & Heath, Garvin, 2016. "The environmental and public health benefits of achieving high penetrations of solar energy in the United States," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 472-486.
    15. Zhai, Haibo & Rubin, Edward S. & Grol, Eric J. & O'Connell, Andrew C. & Wu, Zitao & Lewis, Eric G., 2022. "Dry cooling retrofits at existing fossil fuel-fired power plants in a water-stressed region: Tradeoffs in water savings, cost, and capacity shortfalls," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 306(PA).
    16. Parkinson, Simon C. & Makowski, Marek & Krey, Volker & Sedraoui, Khaled & Almasoud, Abdulrahman H. & Djilali, Ned, 2018. "A multi-criteria model analysis framework for assessing integrated water-energy system transformation pathways," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 477-486.

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