IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/engenv/v21y2010i2p1-20.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Projection of California's Future Freshwater Requirements for Power Generation

Author

Listed:
  • Arturo A. Keller
  • Stacy Tellinghuisen
  • Cheryl Lee
  • Dana Larson
  • Bliss Dennen
  • James Lee

Abstract

Water and energy are inextricably linked. Water is needed for energy production, and energy is needed for the extraction, conveyance, treatment, and distribution of water. Water requirements for electricity generation vary significantly, depending on the primary energy source, conversion technologies, and cooling technologies. Therefore, to meet future demands, integrated planning between both the energy and water sectors is essential. This analysis provides a tool that supports integrated planning by quantifying the water requirements for electricity generation from both renewable and non-renewable sources. Using California as a case study, we assessed the freshwater requirements for current and future electricity generation under several different energy portfolios. Our analysis demonstrated the potentially positive effects of investment in certain renewable resources such as solar photovoltaics, wind power, and waste-based bioenergy. Similarly, dry cooling technologies, if employed in thermoelectric power plants, can greatly diminish the electricity sector's impact on freshwater resources. Conversely, increased reliance on dedicated energy crops may have extraordinary impacts on freshwater resources. Thus, meeting a “renewable energy portfolio†goal or standard requires careful analysis of the freshwater implications of various primary energy sources and their associated conversion processes. A portfolio with reduced water use and carbon emissions could produce a number of environmental benefits. The corresponding increase in electricity costs may result in increasing energy efficiency, potentially with some trade-off with regards to consumer well-being. Converting California's coastal power plants from seawater-cooled to wet recirculating or dry cooled could actually result in a very minor increase in overall freshwater withdrawals. If reclaimed water is used for cooling these plants, this may actually reduce pressure for freshwater withdrawals overall. While the analysis focused on California, the trends are valid for freshwater limited or stressed regions around the world, and may serve to make better decisions when planning energy and water infrastructure.

Suggested Citation

  • Arturo A. Keller & Stacy Tellinghuisen & Cheryl Lee & Dana Larson & Bliss Dennen & James Lee, 2010. "Projection of California's Future Freshwater Requirements for Power Generation," Energy & Environment, , vol. 21(2), pages 1-20, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:engenv:v:21:y:2010:i:2:p:1-20
    DOI: 10.1260/0958-305X.21.2.1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1260/0958-305X.21.2.1
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1260/0958-305X.21.2.1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gleick, Peter H., 1992. "Environmental consequences of hydroelectric development: The role of facility size and type," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 17(8), pages 735-747.
    2. Liu, Henry & Noble, James S. & Wu, Jianping & Zuniga, Robert, 1998. "Economics of coal log pipeline for transporting coal," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 377-391, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Scherer, Laura & Pfister, Stephan, 2016. "Global water footprint assessment of hydropower," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 711-720.
    2. Akhil Kadiyala & Raghava Kommalapati & Ziaul Huque, 2016. "Evaluation of the Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Hydroelectricity Generation Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(6), pages 1-14, June.
    3. Rebecca Peters & Jürgen Berlekamp & Ana Lucía & Vittoria Stefani & Klement Tockner & Christiane Zarfl, 2021. "Integrated Impact Assessment for Sustainable Hydropower Planning in the Vjosa Catchment (Greece, Albania)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-18, February.
    4. Varun & Bhat, I.K. & Prakash, Ravi, 2009. "LCA of renewable energy for electricity generation systems--A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(5), pages 1067-1073, June.
    5. Beatriz Mayor & Ignacio Rodríguez-Muñoz & Fermín Villarroya & Esperanza Montero & Elena López-Gunn, 2017. "The Role of Large and Small Scale Hydropower for Energy and Water Security in the Spanish Duero Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-21, October.
    6. Sichilalu, Sam & Wamalwa, Fhazhil & Akinlabi, Esther T., 2019. "Optimal control of wind-hydrokinetic pumpback hydropower plant constrained with ecological water flows," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 54-69.
    7. I. Mouratiadou & M. Bevione & D. L. Bijl & L. Drouet & M. Hejazi & S. Mima & M. Pehl & G. Luderer, 2018. "Water demand for electricity in deep decarbonisation scenarios: a multi-model assessment," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 147(1), pages 91-106, March.
    8. Rosa, Luiz Pinguelli & Schaeffer, Roberto, 1995. "Global warming potentials : The case of emissions from dams," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 149-158, February.
    9. Lohrmann, Alena & Child, Michael & Breyer, Christian, 2021. "Assessment of the water footprint for the European power sector during the transition towards a 100% renewable energy system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 233(C).
    10. Marufuzzaman, Mohammad & Ekşioğlu, Sandra D. & Hernandez, Rafael, 2015. "Truck versus pipeline transportation cost analysis of wastewater sludge," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 14-30.
    11. Kelly-Richards, Sarah & Silber-Coats, Noah & Crootof, Arica & Tecklin, David & Bauer, Carl, 2017. "Governing the transition to renewable energy: A review of impacts and policy issues in the small hydropower boom," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 251-264.
    12. Hansen, Carly & Musa, Mirko & Sasthav, Colin & DeNeale, Scott, 2021. "Hydropower development potential at non-powered dams: Data needs and research gaps," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    13. Athayde, Simone & Duarte, Carla G. & Gallardo, Amarilis L.C.F. & Moretto, Evandro M. & Sangoi, Luisa A. & Dibo, Ana Paula A. & Siqueira-Gay, Juliana & Sánchez, Luis E., 2019. "Improving policies and instruments to address cumulative impacts of small hydropower in the Amazon," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 265-271.
    14. Fthenakis, Vasilis & Kim, Hyung Chul, 2010. "Life-cycle uses of water in U.S. electricity generation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(7), pages 2039-2048, September.
    15. Xiankun Yang & Xixi Lu & Lishan Ran & Paolo Tarolli, 2019. "Geomorphometric Assessment of the Impacts of Dam Construction on River Disconnectivity and Flow Regulation in the Yangtze Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-21, June.
    16. Kumar, Deepak & Katoch, S.S., 2016. "Environmental sustainability of run of the river hydropower projects: A study from western Himalayan region of India," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 599-607.
    17. Dogmus, Özge Can & Nielsen, Jonas Ø., 2019. "Is the hydropower boom actually taking place? A case study of a South East European country, Bosnia and Herzegovina," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 278-289.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:engenv:v:21:y:2010:i:2:p:1-20. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.