Assessing the impacts of droughts and heat waves at thermoelectric power plants in the United States using integrated regression, thermodynamic, and climate models

Cook, Margaret A.; King, Carey W.; Davidson, F. Todd; Webber, Michael E.

doi:10.1016/j.egyr.2015.10.002

Cited by 42 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Whereas the effects of algal facilities on aquatic biota are indirect and mediated by flow abstraction, coal-fired thermoelectric plants discharge heated effluents and therefore have direct impacts on thermal habitat [53]. Although effluents may be cooled before discharge [54,55], there have been occasional plant shutdowns in the US when regulatory limits were exceeded [53].…”

Section: Implications For Stream Habitatmentioning

confidence: 99%

Avoiding Conflicts between Future Freshwater Algae Production and Water Scarcity in the United States at the Energy-Water Nexus

Jager

Efroymson

Baskaran

2019

Water

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Sustainable production of algae will depend on understanding trade-offs at the energy-water nexus. Algal biofuels promise to improve the environmental sustainability profile of renewable energy along most dimensions. In this assessment of potential US freshwater production, we assumed sustainable production along the carbon dimension by simulating placement of open ponds away from high-carbon-stock lands (forest, grassland, and wetland) and near sources of waste CO 2 . Along the water dimension, we quantified trade-offs between water scarcity and production for an ‘upstream’ indicator (measuring minimum water supply) and a ‘downstream’ indicator (measuring impacts on rivers). For the upstream indicator, we developed a visualization tool to evaluate algae production for different thresholds for water surplus. We hypothesized that maintaining a minimum seasonal water surplus would also protect river habitat for aquatic biota. Our study confirmed that ensuring surplus water also reduced the duration of low-flow events, but only above a threshold. We also observed a trade-off between algal production and the duration of low-flow events in streams. These results can help to guide the choice of basin-specific sustainability targets to avoid conflicts with competing water users at this energy-water nexus. Where conflicts emerge, alternative water sources or enclosed photobioreactors may be needed for algae cultivation.

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Section: Implications For Stream Habitatmentioning

confidence: 99%

Avoiding Conflicts between Future Freshwater Algae Production and Water Scarcity in the United States at the Energy-Water Nexus

Jager

Efroymson

Baskaran

2019

Water

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“…The study focuses on the Mississippi River watershed as it accounts for the majority (75%) of OT-based capacity that relies on riverine freshwater in the US, most of the curtailment events due to CWA temperature limits when enforced (CWA limits may not always be enforced) and 90% of thermal pollution impacts on power supply (SI available at stacks. iop.org/ERL/13/034033/mmedia) [10,11,[31][32]. Between 1995-2015, 87-128 OT-based plants (66-81 GW) and 179-198 RC-based plants (111-146 GW) were simulated.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal pollution impacts on rivers and power supply in the Mississippi River watershed

Miara

Vörösmarty

Macknick

et al. 2018

Environ. Res. Lett.

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“…During the lowdemand, cooler, night hours (typically any time between midnight and 6 am), the hydronic loop pump (2) circulates water through the chiller (1) and to the TES heat exchanger (6) to re-cool the water in the rainwater/TES tank (7), which is being circulated by the rainwater/TES pump (5) through the other side of the heat exchanger (6). The valve arrangement around the rainwater/TES pump allows TES water to be drawn from the top and returned to the bottom during the recharging process, maintaining the tank thermocline.…”

Section: Description Of the Hydronic System With Rainwater Thermal Stmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During the summer in Texas, the cumulative electric demand from residential air conditioners alone can exceed 40% of the peak load on the electric grid [5]. Because most of these power plants use water for cooling, water scarcity can force them to reduce their power output or turn off entirely [6,7]. If power plants do not have the water available to produce power, price could significantly increase, and/or the supply could become less reliable [6,7].…”

Section: Introduction and Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling electric load and water consumption impacts from an integrated thermal energy and rainwater storage system for residential buildings in Texas

2017

Self Cite

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h i g h l i g h t sHydronic integrated rainwater thermal storage (ITHERST) system concept presented. ITHERST system modeled to assess peak electric load shifting and water savings. Case study shows 75% peak load reduction and 9% increase in energy consumption. Potable rainwater collection could provide $50-90% of water used for case study. a b s t r a c tThe United States' built environment is a significant direct and indirect consumer of energy and water. In Texas, and other parts of the Southern and Western US, air conditioning loads, particularly from residential buildings, contribute significantly to the peak electricity load on the grid, straining transmission. In parallel, water resources in these regions are strained by growing populations and shrinking supplies. One potential method to address both of these issues is to develop integrated thermal energy and auxiliary water (e.g. rainwater, greywater, etc.) storage and management systems that reduce peak load and freshwater consumption. This analysis focuses on a proposed integrated thermal energy and rainwater storage (ITHERST) system that is incorporated into a residential air-source chiller/heat pump with hydronic distribution. This paper describes a step-wise hourly thermodynamic model of the thermal storage system to assess on-peak performance, and a daily volume-balance model of auxiliary water collection and consumption to assess water savings potential. While the model is generalized, this analysis uses a case study of a single family home in Austin, Texas to illustrate its capabilities. The results indicate this ITHERST system could reduce on-peak air conditioning electric power demand by over 75%, with increased overall electric energy consumption of approximately 7-9%, when optimally sized. Additionally, the modeled rainwater collection reduced municipal water consumption by approximately 53-89%, depending on the system size.

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Assessing the impacts of droughts and heat waves at thermoelectric power plants in the United States using integrated regression, thermodynamic, and climate models

Cited by 42 publications

References 29 publications

Avoiding Conflicts between Future Freshwater Algae Production and Water Scarcity in the United States at the Energy-Water Nexus

Avoiding Conflicts between Future Freshwater Algae Production and Water Scarcity in the United States at the Energy-Water Nexus

Thermal pollution impacts on rivers and power supply in the Mississippi River watershed

Modeling electric load and water consumption impacts from an integrated thermal energy and rainwater storage system for residential buildings in Texas

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