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Hydrological limits to carbon capture and storage

Author

Listed:
  • Lorenzo Rosa

    (University of California Berkeley)

  • Jeffrey A. Reimer

    (University of California Berkeley)

  • Marjorie S. Went

    (University of California Berkeley)

  • Paolo D’Odorico

    (University of California Berkeley)

Abstract

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a strategy to mitigate climate change by limiting CO2 emissions from point sources such as coal-fired power plants (CFPPs). Although decision-makers are seeking to implement policies regarding CCS, the consequences of this technology on water scarcity have not been fully assessed. Here we simulate the impacts on water resources that would result from retrofitting global CFPPs with four different CCS technologies. We find that 43% of the global CFPP capacity experiences water scarcity for at least one month per year and 32% experiences scarcity for five or more months per year. Although retrofitting CFPPs with CCS would not greatly exacerbate water scarcity, we show that certain geographies lack sufficient water resources to meet the additional water demands of CCS technologies. For CFPPs located in these water-scarce areas, the trade-offs between the climate change mitigation benefits and the increased pressure on water resources of CCS should be weighed. We conclude that CCS should be preferentially deployed at those facilities least impacted by water scarcity.

Suggested Citation

  • Lorenzo Rosa & Jeffrey A. Reimer & Marjorie S. Went & Paolo D’Odorico, 2020. "Hydrological limits to carbon capture and storage," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 3(8), pages 658-666, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natsus:v:3:y:2020:i:8:d:10.1038_s41893-020-0532-7
    DOI: 10.1038/s41893-020-0532-7
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Panagiotis Fragkos, 2021. "Assessing the Role of Carbon Capture and Storage in Mitigation Pathways of Developing Economies," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-20, March.
    2. Yang, Lin & Lv, Haodong & Wei, Ning & Li, Yiming & Zhang, Xian, 2023. "Dynamic optimization of carbon capture technology deployment targeting carbon neutrality, cost efficiency and water stress: Evidence from China's electric power sector," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    3. Chen, Xiaotong & Yang, Fang & Zhang, Shining & Zakeri, Behnam & Chen, Xing & Liu, Changyi & Hou, Fangxin, 2021. "Regional emission pathways, energy transition paths and cost analysis under various effort-sharing approaches for meeting Paris Agreement goals," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 232(C).
    4. Rosa, Lorenzo & Mazzotti, Marco, 2022. "Potential for hydrogen production from sustainable biomass with carbon capture and storage," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    5. Liu, Bingsheng & Liu, Song & Xue, Bin & Lu, Shijian & Yang, Yang, 2021. "Formalizing an integrated decision-making model for the risk assessment of carbon capture, utilization, and storage projects: From a sustainability perspective," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 303(C).
    6. Xizhe Yan & Dan Tong & Yixuan Zheng & Yang Liu & Shaoqing Chen & Xinying Qin & Chuchu Chen & Ruochong Xu & Jing Cheng & Qinren Shi & Dongsheng Zheng & Kebin He & Qiang Zhang & Yu Lei, 2024. "Cost-effectiveness uncertainty may bias the decision of coal power transitions in China," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
    7. Rosa, Lorenzo & Sanchez, Daniel L. & Realmonte, Giulia & Baldocchi, Dennis & D'Odorico, Paolo, 2021. "The water footprint of carbon capture and storage technologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    8. Jin, Yi & Scherer, Laura & Sutanudjaja, Edwin H. & Tukker, Arnold & Behrens, Paul, 2022. "Climate change and CCS increase the water vulnerability of China's thermoelectric power fleet," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    9. Li, Mingxu & He, Nianpeng, 2022. "Carbon intensity of global existing and future hydropower reservoirs," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    10. Jin, Yi & Behrens, Paul & Tukker, Arnold & Scherer, Laura, 2021. "The energy-water nexus of China’s interprovincial and seasonal electric power transmission," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 286(C).
    11. Wähling, Lara-Sophie & Fridahl, Mathias & Heimann, Tobias & Merk, Christine, 2023. "The sequence matters: Expert opinions on policy mechanisms for bioenergy with carbon capture and storage," Open Access Publications from Kiel Institute for the World Economy 275739, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    12. Fernando Rubiera & Carlos Córdoba & Tamara Pena & Marta G. Plaza, 2024. "Production of Sustainable Adsorbents for CO 2 Capture Applications from Food Biowastes," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-20, March.
    13. McLaughlin, Hope & Littlefield, Anna A. & Menefee, Maia & Kinzer, Austin & Hull, Tobias & Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Bazilian, Morgan D. & Kim, Jinsoo & Griffiths, Steven, 2023. "Carbon capture utilization and storage in review: Sociotechnical implications for a carbon reliant world," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    14. Tom Terlouw & Lorenzo Rosa & Christian Bauer & Russell McKenna, 2024. "Future hydrogen economies imply environmental trade-offs and a supply-demand mismatch," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-14, December.
    15. Wang, Yihan & Wen, Zongguo & Xu, Mao & Kosajan, Vorada, 2024. "The carbon-energy-water nexus of the carbon capture, utilization, and storage technology deployment schemes: A case study in China's cement industry," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 362(C).

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