Estimating the water usage of the US energy system within the context of change
Abstract
Although water is a critical input to the US energy system, the quantities and qualities of water resources that are used throughout the national energy economy have been poorly understood. Although regional analyses have been performed for individual fuels across various lifecycle stages, these studies are often difficult to compare due to differences or obscurities in data collection, reporting, and/or analysis design. This talk will summarize a multi-year effort to synthesize hundreds of data sources to develop a comprehensive estimate of absolute water consumption and withdrawals, as well as water usage intensities, for the US energy economy in 2014, across 17 fuel cycles and 5 lifecycle stages, differentiated by water quality and water source. Results indicate that the US energy system accounts for approximately 10% and 40% of US water consumption and water withdrawals, respectively. Ongoing efforts to increase the spatio-temporal resolution of these data suggest that the quantities and qualities of energy-related water usage are changing in space and time due to technological and fuel transitions (e.g. shifts in renewable energy production, natural gas power generation, power plant cooling technologies, hydraulic fracturing, etc.), which has exacerbated water stress in some regions, while alleviating some water concerns in others. A discussion of results, analytical challenges, and best data reporting practices will be offered in efforts to improve the co-management of energy and water resources and reduce competition with other sectors of the broader economy, particularly in regards to agriculture. Given that climate variability and climate change will continue to impact the timing and availability of water resources that are necessary for ensuring a safe and reliable energy supply, developing better frameworks for quantifying these interdependencies rigorously and efficiently is prudent moving forward.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018AGUFMGC53C..06S
- Keywords:
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- 1616 Climate variability;
- GLOBAL CHANGE