Issues and Challenges in the Southwest

Mike Hightower
Sandia National Laboratories
Albuquerque, New Mexico
May 2008
 Energy and Water are
… Interdependent
Water for Energy and Energy for Water

Energy and Water

power production,
production processing,
require water: distribution,
• Thermoelectric and end-use
cooling require energy:
• Hydropower • Pumping
• Energy minerals • Conveyance
extraction/mining and Transport
• Fuel Production • Treatment
(fossil fuels, H2, • Use conditioning
biofuels) • Surface and
• Emission control Ground water
Water Withdrawal Trends by Sector

[USGS, 2004]
Water Consumption by Sector
U.S. Freshwater Consumption, 100 Bgal/day
Domestic
7.1% Commercial
Livestock
1.2%
3.3%

Thermoelectric
3.3%
Industrial Mining
Irrigation 3.3% 1.2%
80.6%
[USGS, 1998]

Energy uses 27 percent of all non-agricultural fresh water

Growing Limitations on Fresh Surface and
Ground Water Availability

• Little increase in surface water

storage capacity since 1980
• Concerns over climate impacts
on surface water supplies

( Based on USGS WSP-2250 1984 and Alley 2007)

• Many major ground water

aquifers seeing reductions in
water quality and yield

(Shannon 2007)
Most State Water Managers Expect Shortages
Over The Next Decade Under Average
Conditions
under Average Water Conditions
WA

MT ME
AK ND
MN MI
OR VTNH
ID
SD WI NY
MI MA
WY CTRI

IA PA NJ
NE
NV OH
UT IL IN MDDE
MD DE
CA CO WV
KS MO VA
KY

HI NC
TN
OK
HI
AZ NM AR SC shortage
HI MS AL GA
Statewide
HI
Regional
TX
LA
HI Local
AK
FL
None
No response or uncertain

Source: GAO 2003

Growing Use of Non-traditional
Water Resources Power Requirements For Treating

10
Today The Future
9
8
7

Kwh/m^3
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Conventional
1 2

Brackish
3

Brackish Sea Water

4 5

Treatment NF RO RO

(Modified from Water Reuse 2007, EPA 2004, Mickley 2003) (Einfeld 2007)

• Desal growing at 10% per year, waste water reuse at 15% per year
• Reuse not accounted for in USGS assessments
• Non-traditional water use is energy intensive
Water Challenges are Nationwide

30%
10% 15%

10%
30% 5%

50% 20%
15%

40%
% Projected
30% 20%
Population
Growth
35% (2000-2020)
Source: Campbell
(2000)

Source: EPRI 2003

Emerging Interest in Energy and Water
Issues and Challenges
• State and national water and energy
groups
– 24 invited presentations in FY07
and 08 on energy and water
challenges
– Research and regulatory groups
considering future energy and
water needs
• Increased media interest
– NATURE, ECONOMIST
– Technical magazines
• NSF/NAS interest in energy debate
and interdependencies research
• Growing international concerns and
challenges
– Europe, Australia, Asia, Canada
Projected New Electric Power
Generation Capacity through 2035
• Coal
– 350, 400 MW steam turbine plants
(140,000 MW)

• Natural Gas
– 150, 100 MW natural gas combined
cycle (15,000 MW)

• Renewables
– 125, 200 MW wind or solar farms
(25,000 MW)

• Nuclear
– 5, 1000 MW nuclear reactors
(5,000 MW)

• Hydroelectric
– None (~40,000-60,000 MW available)
Water Use and Consumption for
Electric Power Generation
Water Use Intensity (gal/MWhe)
Cooling
Plant-type Steam Condensing Other Uses
Process
Withdrawal Consumption Consumption
Open-loop 20,000–50,000 ~200-300
Fossil/ biomass steam turbine ~30
Closed-loop 300–600 300–480

Nuclear Open-loop 25,000–60,000 ~400

~30
steam turbine Closed-loop 500–1,100 400–720

Natural Gas Combined- Open-loop 7,500–20,000 100

7–10
Cycle Closed-loop 230 180
Integrated Gasification
Closed-loop 200 180 150
Combined-Cycle
Carbon sequestration for
~25% increase in water withdrawal and consumption
fossil energy generation
Geothermal Steam Closed-loop 2000 1350 50
Concentrating Solar Closed-loop 750 740 10
Wind and
N/A 0 0 1-2
Solar Photovoltaic
Water Demands for Future
Electric Power Development
9
• Water demands could
8
almost triple from 1995
consumption for 7

( billion gallons per day)

Water Consumption
projected mix of plants 6

and cooling 5

4
• Carbon emission
3
requirements will
2
increase water
1
consumption by an
0
additional 1-2 Bgal/day
1995 2005 2015 2025 2035
Year
Regional Growth in
Thermoelectric Power Generation
Projected Thermoelectric Increases
(Capacity in 2025 vs 1995)

• Most growth in
regions that are
already water
stressed
• Most new plants
expected to use
evaporative
cooling because
of EPA 316 A &B
requirements
Source: NETL, 2004
Water Demand/Impact of Transportation Fuels
Emerging Water Demands for
Alternative Fuels Development
• Irrigation of 3

even small 2.5

(billion gallons per day)

Water Consumption
percentage of Alt Fuels
2
biofuel acreage
Biofuels
could increase 1.5
water Traditional
1 Refining
consumption
by an additional 0.5
3-5 Bgal/day 0
1995 2005 2015 2025 2035
Year
 EISA 2007 Renewable
EISA Fuels Standard
Renewable Fuel Standard

40
36-Billion Gallons of Biofuel by 2022

35
Technology-neutral Advanced Biofuel:
maximum = ?
30
billion gallons per year

25

20 Biofuel from Cellulose:

Biomass-based Diesel:
16 bgy, 2022
maximum = ?
15

10
Corn Ethanol:
maximum 15 bgy
5

0
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Biomass and Water Use
Impacts Will be Regional
Oil Shale development will be regional and
impact water availability and quality

• Reserves are in areas of

limited water resources
• Water needed for
retorting, steam flushing,
and cooling up to 3
gallons per gallon of fuel
• Concerns over in situ
migration of retort by-
products and impact on
ground water quality
Energy Water Roadmap Overview

• Three regional needs assessment workshops: Nov 2005 through

mid-January 2006
– Kansas City, Baltimore, Salt Lake City
– Almost 350 participants from 40 states involved
– Focus on emerging user and stakeholder problems and challenges and science
and technology role in effective solutions – captured high-level issues, needs, and
directions

• Broad spectrum of regional, state, and local participation and

input
– Representatives from energy companies, electric utilities, water utilities, water
managers, economic development groups, energy regulators, environmental
groups, tribal nations, other water-use sectors

• Gaps and Technical Innovations Workshops to capture science

and technology research and development priorities
– Almost 150 researchers and technology developers involved
Summary of Major National Needs
and Issues Identified in Regional Workshops
Better resources planning and management
• Improved water supply and demand characterization, monitoring, and
modeling
• Integrated regional energy and water resource planning and decision
support tools
• Framework for incorporating infrastructure, regulatory, and policy
considerations for improved energy/water efficiency planning
Improved water and energy use efficiency
• Improved water efficiency in thermoelectric power generation
• Improved biofuels/biomass water use efficiency
• Reduced water intensity for emerging energy resources
Development of alternative water resources and supplies
• Non-traditional and oil and gas produced water use and reuse
• Improved energy efficiency for non-traditional water treatment and use
Research Program for Electric
Power Sector • Improve dry and hybrid
cooling system
performance
• Improve ecological
performance of intake
structures for hydro and
once-through cooling
• Improve materials and
cooling approaches
compatible with use of
degraded water
Hybrid Wet-Dry Cooling • Electric grid infrastructure
System upgrades to improve low
water use renewable
technology integration
Columbia/Snake/Yakima River Basin
Integrated Planning Pilot Results
• Looked at combining wind and
hydro to meet agricultural energy
and water demands
• Included BPA, BoR, Corps, power
and ag sectors
• Showed huge benefits of hydro/wind
integration and planning
– $100M/yr savings in irrigation
pumping costs
– Reduction in water rationing for
irrigation
– End use can accommodate
intermittency
• Climate forecasting and better
streamflow data has huge value in
improving system operations
• Additional hydro needed to provide
system storage and capacitance
Research Program for Alternative
Fuels Sector
• Reduce water use for
cooling in biofuels and
alternative fuels production
• Reduce water use in
processing
• Develop low fresh water
use technologies such as
algal biodiesel
• Assess non-traditional
water use for fuels
applications
• Assess hydrologic impacts
of large cellulose biofuels
scale up and oil shale
Research and Development Program
for Integrated Resources Management
– Accelerate water resources
forecasting and management
– Evaluate impacts of climate
variability and improve
hydrological forecasting
– Improve common decision
support tools
– Develop system analysis
approaches for: Co-location of
energy and water facilities,
improved national
transmission capabilities to
support renewables,
distributed generation of
biofuels
Energy and Water Considerations
for the Southwest
• Have hit ‘peak fresh water’
– Moving toward era of water management vs. water development to meet
future water needs
• Non-traditional water resources - waste water, brackish
water, produced water – are potential new water resources
– Limitations on possible uses, availability, and ecological issues
– Handling produced water could limit fossil energy production
• Climate change in the Southwest is likely to reduce water
availability and increase energy demands
– Could increase water use and carbon emissions
• Need long-range planning and integration of energy and
water infrastructure development to conserve water and
energy