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Title: Water supply as a constraint on transmission expansion planning in the Western interconnection

Abstract

Here, consideration of water supply in transmission expansion planning (TEP) provides a valuable means of managing impacts of thermoelectric generation on limited water resources. Toward this opportunity, thermoelectric water intensity factors and water supply availability (fresh and non-fresh sources) were incorporated into a recent TEP exercise conducted for the electric interconnection in the Western United States. The goal was to inform the placement of new thermoelectric generation so as to minimize issues related to water availability. Although freshwater availability is limited in the West, few instances across five TEP planning scenarios were encountered where water availability impacted the development of new generation. This unexpected result was related to planning decisions that favored the development of low water use generation that was geographically dispersed across the West. These planning decisions were not made because of their favorable influence on thermoelectric water demand; rather, on the basis of assumed future fuel and technology costs, policy drivers and the topology of electricity demand. Results also projected that interconnection-wide thermoelectric water consumption would increase by 31% under the business-as-usual case, while consumption would decrease by 42% under a scenario assuming a low-carbon future. Except in a few instances, new thermoelectric water consumption could bemore » accommodated with less than 10% of the local available water supply; however, limited freshwater supplies and state-level policies could increase use of non-fresh water sources for new thermoelectric generation. Results could have been considerably different if scenarios favoring higher-intensity water use generation technology or potential impacts of climate change had been explored. Conduct of this exercise highlighted the importance of integrating water into all phases of TEP, particularly joint management of decisions that are both directly (e.g., water availability constraint) and indirectly (technology or policy constraints) related to future thermoelectric water demand, as well as, the careful selection of scenarios that adequately bound the potential dimensions of water impact.« less

Authors:
ORCiD logo; ; ;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Electricity (OE)
OSTI Identifier:
1333024
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1332945; OSTI ID: 1333025
Report Number(s):
SAND2016-10777J
Journal ID: ISSN 1748-9326
Grant/Contract Number:  
Contract No. M610000581; AC04-94AL85000
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Published Article
Journal Name:
Environmental Research Letters
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Name: Environmental Research Letters Journal Volume: 11 Journal Issue: 12; Journal ID: ISSN 1748-9326
Publisher:
IOP Publishing
Country of Publication:
United Kingdom
Language:
English
Subject:
13 HYDRO ENERGY; 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Citation Formats

Tidwell, Vincent C., Bailey, Michael, Zemlick, Katie M., and Moreland, Barbara D. Water supply as a constraint on transmission expansion planning in the Western interconnection. United Kingdom: N. p., 2016. Web. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/11/12/124001.
Tidwell, Vincent C., Bailey, Michael, Zemlick, Katie M., & Moreland, Barbara D. Water supply as a constraint on transmission expansion planning in the Western interconnection. United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/12/124001
Tidwell, Vincent C., Bailey, Michael, Zemlick, Katie M., and Moreland, Barbara D. 2016. "Water supply as a constraint on transmission expansion planning in the Western interconnection". United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/12/124001.
@article{osti_1333024,
title = {Water supply as a constraint on transmission expansion planning in the Western interconnection},
author = {Tidwell, Vincent C. and Bailey, Michael and Zemlick, Katie M. and Moreland, Barbara D.},
abstractNote = {Here, consideration of water supply in transmission expansion planning (TEP) provides a valuable means of managing impacts of thermoelectric generation on limited water resources. Toward this opportunity, thermoelectric water intensity factors and water supply availability (fresh and non-fresh sources) were incorporated into a recent TEP exercise conducted for the electric interconnection in the Western United States. The goal was to inform the placement of new thermoelectric generation so as to minimize issues related to water availability. Although freshwater availability is limited in the West, few instances across five TEP planning scenarios were encountered where water availability impacted the development of new generation. This unexpected result was related to planning decisions that favored the development of low water use generation that was geographically dispersed across the West. These planning decisions were not made because of their favorable influence on thermoelectric water demand; rather, on the basis of assumed future fuel and technology costs, policy drivers and the topology of electricity demand. Results also projected that interconnection-wide thermoelectric water consumption would increase by 31% under the business-as-usual case, while consumption would decrease by 42% under a scenario assuming a low-carbon future. Except in a few instances, new thermoelectric water consumption could be accommodated with less than 10% of the local available water supply; however, limited freshwater supplies and state-level policies could increase use of non-fresh water sources for new thermoelectric generation. Results could have been considerably different if scenarios favoring higher-intensity water use generation technology or potential impacts of climate change had been explored. Conduct of this exercise highlighted the importance of integrating water into all phases of TEP, particularly joint management of decisions that are both directly (e.g., water availability constraint) and indirectly (technology or policy constraints) related to future thermoelectric water demand, as well as, the careful selection of scenarios that adequately bound the potential dimensions of water impact.},
doi = {10.1088/1748-9326/11/12/124001},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1333024}, journal = {Environmental Research Letters},
issn = {1748-9326},
number = 12,
volume = 11,
place = {United Kingdom},
year = {Mon Nov 21 00:00:00 EST 2016},
month = {Mon Nov 21 00:00:00 EST 2016}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record at https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/11/12/124001

Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 20 works
Citation information provided by
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Works referenced in this record:

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journal, September 2013


The potential impacts of climate-change policy on freshwater use in thermoelectric power generation
journal, October 2011


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Works referencing / citing this record:

Virtual water transfers of the US electric grid
journal, October 2018


Implications of water constraints on electricity capacity expansion in the United States
journal, February 2019