You are here:
A review of water use in the U.S. electric power sector: insights from systems-level perspectives
Citation:
Dodder, R. A review of water use in the U.S. electric power sector: insights from systems-level perspectives. Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering. Elsevier BV, AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, 5:7-14, (2014).
Impact/Purpose:
This is a review article to synthesize and discuss the results from a large number of studies looking at the water demands for future electricity generation mixes under climate mitigation scenarios.
Description:
Thermoelectric power production comprised 41% of total freshwater withdrawals in the U.S., surpassing even agriculture. This review highlights scenarios of the electric sector’s future demands for water, including scenarios that limit both CO2 and water availability. A number of studies show withdrawals decreasing with retirement of existing electricity generating units. Consumption, the evaporative losses, also decreases in many scenarios. However, climate mitigation scenarios relying heavily on nuclear and carbon capture technologies may induce increases in water consumption. These increases in consumption represent a potential tradeoff between climate mitigation and adaptation of the electric sector to climate-related changes in water resources. It also points to the need for both analyses and technological solutions from the chemical engineering community.
