The influence of future electricity mix alternatives on southwestern US water resources

Abstract

A climate driven, water resource systems model of the southwestern US was used to explore the implications of growth, extended drought, and climate warming on the allocation of water among competing uses. The analysis focused on the water benefits from alternative thermoelectric generation mixes, but included other uses, namely irrigated agriculture, municipal indoor and outdoor use, and environmental and inter-state compact requirements. The model, referred to as WEAP-SW, was developed on the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) platform, and is scenario-based and forward projecting from 2008 to 2050. The scenario includes a southwest population that grows from about 55 million to more than 100 million, a prolonged dry period, and a long-term warming trend of 2 • C by mid-century. In addition, the scenario assumes that water allocation under shortage conditions would prioritize thermoelectric, environmental, and inter-state compacts by shorting first irrigated agriculture, then municipal demands.We show that while thermoelectric cooling water consumption is relatively small compared with other uses, the physical realities and the legal and institutional structures of water use in the region mean that relatively small differences in regional water use across different electricity mix scenarios correspond with more substantial impacts on individual basins and water use sectors. At a region-wide level, these choices influence the buffer against further water stress afforded the region through its generous storage capacity in reservoirs.

Characterizing cooling water source and usage patterns across US thermoelectric power plants: a comprehensive assessment of self-reported cooling water data

“…cooling water volume per electrical energy output) based on reported values from primary literature sources [25,10]. This compilation of water use rates has been central to most recent studies evaluating cooling water use at the operational phase of power production [22,[26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42]. It characterizes power facility cooling water consumption and withdrawal rates based on fuel, cooling system, and prime mover configuration for a small sample of generators (on average four facilities per technology classification) reflecting the best available data at the time of publication [10].…”

Vulnerabilities and opportunities at the nexus of electricity, water and climate

“…Showing that low-carbon and low-water electricity production can go hand-in-hand, it drew substantially on the findings of the energy-water modeling and related research of Macknick et al (2012b), Sattler et al (2012), Clemmer et al (2013), Flores-López and Yates (2013) and Yates et al (2013aYates et al ( , 2013bYates et al ( , 2013c.…”

A review of water use in the U.S. electric power sector: insights from systems-level perspectives

“…This issue provides perhaps the most comprehensive and integrated effort to assess the water implications of electric power generation in the U.S., both at the national level and also with a high enough level of spatial resolution to assess watershed-level impacts. This issue includes the following sets of analyses: (a) a review of water factors from the primary literature [23 ] and comparison of reported and calculated water use [22]; (b) description of a linked energy and water modeling framework (ReEDS and WEAP) [44]; (c) modeling of low carbon electricity futures [37], with assessment of the water impacts of those scenarios at the national and regional level [34 ]; and (d) linking the results of the electricity scenarios with models of regional water systems for the southeastern U.S. [31,43] and southwestern U.S. [32,42].…”