Changing the spatial location of electricity generation to increase water availability in areas with drought: a feasibility study and quantification of air quality impacts in Texas
The feasibility, cost, and air quality impacts of using electrical grids to shift water use from drought-stricken regions to areas with more water availability were examined. Power plant cooling represents a large portion of freshwater withdrawals in the United States, and shifting where electricity...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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IOP Publishing
2013
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/83188 |
| _version_ | 1826194164033781760 |
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| author | Pacsi, Adam P. Alhajeri, Nawaf S. Webber, Michael E. Allen, David T. Webster, Mort David |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division Pacsi, Adam P. Alhajeri, Nawaf S. Webber, Michael E. Allen, David T. Webster, Mort David |
| author_sort | Pacsi, Adam P. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | The feasibility, cost, and air quality impacts of using electrical grids to shift water use from drought-stricken regions to areas with more water availability were examined. Power plant cooling represents a large portion of freshwater withdrawals in the United States, and shifting where electricity generation occurs can allow the grid to act as a virtual water pipeline, increasing water availability in regions with drought by reducing water consumption and withdrawals for power generation. During a 2006 drought, shifting electricity generation out of the most impacted areas of South Texas (~10% of base case generation) to other parts of the grid would have been feasible using transmission and power generation available at the time, and some areas would experience changes in air quality. Although expensive, drought-based electricity dispatch is a potential parallel strategy that can be faster to implement than other infrastructure changes, such as air cooling or water pipelines. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T09:51:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/83188 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T09:51:55Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/831882022-09-26T14:09:30Z Changing the spatial location of electricity generation to increase water availability in areas with drought: a feasibility study and quantification of air quality impacts in Texas Pacsi, Adam P. Alhajeri, Nawaf S. Webber, Michael E. Allen, David T. Webster, Mort David Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division Webster, Mort David The feasibility, cost, and air quality impacts of using electrical grids to shift water use from drought-stricken regions to areas with more water availability were examined. Power plant cooling represents a large portion of freshwater withdrawals in the United States, and shifting where electricity generation occurs can allow the grid to act as a virtual water pipeline, increasing water availability in regions with drought by reducing water consumption and withdrawals for power generation. During a 2006 drought, shifting electricity generation out of the most impacted areas of South Texas (~10% of base case generation) to other parts of the grid would have been feasible using transmission and power generation available at the time, and some areas would experience changes in air quality. Although expensive, drought-based electricity dispatch is a potential parallel strategy that can be faster to implement than other infrastructure changes, such as air cooling or water pipelines. National Science Foundation (U.S.). Office of Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (Grant 0835414) United States. Dept. of Energy 2013-12-23T13:57:56Z 2013-12-23T13:57:56Z 2013-08 2013-02 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 1748-9326 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/83188 Pacsi, Adam P, Nawaf S Alhajeri, Mort D Webster, Michael E Webber, and David T Allen. “Changing the spatial location of electricity generation to increase water availability in areas with drought: a feasibility study and quantification of air quality impacts in Texas.” Environmental Research Letters 8, no. 3 (September 1, 2013): 035029. en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/035029 Environmental Research Letters http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ application/pdf IOP Publishing IOP Publishing |
| spellingShingle | Pacsi, Adam P. Alhajeri, Nawaf S. Webber, Michael E. Allen, David T. Webster, Mort David Changing the spatial location of electricity generation to increase water availability in areas with drought: a feasibility study and quantification of air quality impacts in Texas |
| title | Changing the spatial location of electricity generation to increase water availability in areas with drought: a feasibility study and quantification of air quality impacts in Texas |
| title_full | Changing the spatial location of electricity generation to increase water availability in areas with drought: a feasibility study and quantification of air quality impacts in Texas |
| title_fullStr | Changing the spatial location of electricity generation to increase water availability in areas with drought: a feasibility study and quantification of air quality impacts in Texas |
| title_full_unstemmed | Changing the spatial location of electricity generation to increase water availability in areas with drought: a feasibility study and quantification of air quality impacts in Texas |
| title_short | Changing the spatial location of electricity generation to increase water availability in areas with drought: a feasibility study and quantification of air quality impacts in Texas |
| title_sort | changing the spatial location of electricity generation to increase water availability in areas with drought a feasibility study and quantification of air quality impacts in texas |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/83188 |
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