Multi-objective optimization modeling for assessment of environmental trade-offs due to electricity generation: A Great Lakes case study
Abstract
Significant volumes of freshwater are required to generate thermoelectric and hydroelectric energy. It is important to develop tools that can be used by policy makers that evaluate environmental impacts of management decisions in the water-energy nexus. Cross-sectoral systems integration echoes the fundamental concept of the water-energy nexus in that both the water sector and the energy sector have the potential to exacerbate or mitigate issues within the other sector. It is necessary to understand the impact electricity generation has on water resources, especially in water-stressed areas. Water stress is a concept that has been widely studied, but it is not addressed in existing environmental trade-off analyses of electricity generation using optimization modeling. Current approaches focus on economic dispatch, which seeks to dispatch the lowest-cost generation units first in order to provide consumers with affordable energy. Alternatively, a similar dispatch strategy can be used but with an environmental objective, i.e., environmental dispatch. Ensuring that energy futures in the United States result in minimal impacts to water resources will require careful planning and consideration of fuel source, technology used, and location of plant retirements or new installations. This work applies a multi-objective optimization model to assess economic and environmental trade-offs of electricity generation under existing and future policy constraints considering impacts to water stress and greenhouse gas emissions, with a case study in the Great Lakes Region.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2020
- Bibcode:
- 2020AGUFMH145.0010D
- Keywords:
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- 1847 Modeling;
- HYDROLOGY;
- 1878 Water/energy interactions;
- HYDROLOGY;
- 1880 Water management;
- HYDROLOGY;
- 6344 System operation and management;
- POLICY SCIENCES & PUBLIC ISSUES