POWER January 2015 - 15

3. Got water? The map shows drought conditions as of Nov. 25, 2014. Source: U.S. Department
of Agriculture, et al.
U.S. Drought Monitor
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Author:
Eric Luebehusen
U.S. Department of Agriculture
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http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/
the total was 20% less than in 2005 (Figure
1). A number of factors contributed to
the reduction, including the use of more
efficient cooling technologies, reductions
in withdrawals to protect aquatic habitat
and environments, power plant closures,
and a decline in coal-fired generation.
But water risk is ultimately a local and
regional issue. California, for example, is
the largest user of water, but the majority
of its freshwater goes to agriculture. It
uses 10 times more saltwater than freshwater
for thermoelectric power withdrawals.
Texas and Illinois, on the other hand,
feed the most freshwater to thermoelectric
power generation (Figure 2).
Drought stress-a big factor in water
risk-is not shared equally across the
country. According to the U.S. Department
of Agriculture drought monitor, most
of California and a large portion of Texas
were experiencing " exceptional drought "
at the end of November, while much of the
Midwestern U.S., including all of Illinois,
was drought free (Figure 3).
Concerns Worldwide
The DOE report noted that severe drought
affected more than a third of the U.S. in
2012, constraining the operation of some
power plants. Of the 12 major reservoirs
that the California Department of Water
Resources Data Exchange Center offers
daily condition reports for, levels at
eight of them were 28% or less on Dec. 1
(Figure 4). The U.S. is not alone. Lack of
rainfall in South America has left some of
January 2015 | POWER
www.powermag.com
15
Brazil's water reservoirs dangerously low
(see " Drought Stresses Brazilian Electricity
Market " in the November issue).
In addition to water quantity issues,
water temperatures can also pose problems.
The DOE report mentioned that the
Millstone Power Station-a nuclear facility
located in Connecticut-shut down in
the summer of 2012 due to high intake
water temperatures. And in August 2014,
the Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station
required the approval of an emerS
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Drought
Impact Types:
Delineates dominant impacts
S = Short-Term, typically less than
6 months (e.g. agriculture, grasslands)
L = Long-Term, typically greater than
6 months (e.g. hydrology, ecology)
Intensity:
D0 Abnormally Dry
D1 Moderate Drought
D2 Severe Drought
D3 Extreme Drought
D4 Exceptional Drought
The Drought Monitor focuses on broadscale
conditions. Local conditions may
vary. See accompanying text summary for
forecast statements.
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(Released Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2014)
November 25, 2014
Valid 7 a.m. EST
gency order allowing it to divert water
from the South Florida Water Management
District's canal system to help moderate
unusually high temperatures and salinity
in the plant's cooling water system.
According to Christopher Gasson, publisher
of the magazine Global Water Intelligence
(GWI), water risk for power plants
is growing. " Power plants take a lot of
water out of nature, but they also put a
lot of that water back where it came from.
It means that while power plants are not
a big overall burden on water resources,
they are at risk if there is simply not
enough water around, " Gasson said in an
interview with POWER.
Gasson noted that the places facing the
greatest water challenges are in the southwestern
U.S., northeast China, India, and
the Middle East. He suggested that the
switch from coal to gas in the U.S. will
probably make things easier from a water
perspective, but that China and India will
remain big coal users in the future.
" China has a particular problem with its
strategy to develop its [coal-to-chemicals]
market in Inner Mongolia and other parts of
the northeast where there isn't much water:
they need to think about [zero liquid discharge]
and recycling, " said Gasson.
In India, he said, the next generation of
power plants will probably be built on the
coast, which might require seawater desalination.
The Middle East is decoupling
power and water as a result of the transition
from thermal to membrane desalination
technology, which does not require
steam to work.
4. Something other than the lifeguard is missing. The water level in Folsom
Lake, a reservoir located 25 miles northeast of Sacramento, Calif., was only 28% in early December.
Courtesy: POWER/Aaron Larson

http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/ http://www.powermag.com

POWER January 2015

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