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ELECTRICITY: Carbon capture would double coal plants' water consumption -- report (12/07/2007)
Katherine Ling, Greenwire reporter
Power plants' consumption of water will nearly double by 2030 if coal-burning generators must install carbon-capture technology to combat global warming, the Energy Department said yesterday.
Carbon capture would increase power plants' water consumption by about 2 billion gallons per day, a 90 percent increase over current rates, the report by DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory says.
The additional water would be used to create steam to drive turbines that generate electricity and capture the carbon gas, the lab says.
Otherwise, withdrawals of cooling water from power plants is expected to decline by 3.5 percent over the next two decades. Power plants are the second largest U.S. water users behind agriculture, but plants don't consume all of the water they withdraw. Most is used for cooling and is released back into water bodies.
A typical 500 megawatt coal-fired power plant uses more than 12 million gallons per hour of water for cooling the steam, the report noted. Nuclear power plants use more, and natural gas plants use less.
Water bodies are being strained by drought and population growth in many regions. A few power plant proposals have been rejected or put in doubt because of water concerns in Idaho, Nevada, South Dakota and Wisconsin (Greenwire, Oct. 4).
The report drew its averages from five different case studies involving different portfolios of once-through, wet recirculating, dry and hybrid cooling mechanisms. Each type of cooling system uses a different amount of water but also has a different amount of energy efficiency.
Regional differences
Power plants' water usage also varies by region, the report said. The Northeast is expected to withdraw 42 percent more freshwater, while the Rocky Mountain and Southwest desert region will see a 24 percent decline.
While the report concludes the whole nation will increase consumption, some states will be hit harder. California and Florida will see a more than 250 percent increase in consumption -- New York more than 350 percent, the report said.
State officials are aware of the issue. An NETL poll of officials in 33 states found 58 percent of them saw water availability as a concern. Another 12 percent said water resources had recently become "more critical."
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Click here to view the report. ****************** see: www.netl.doe.gov/technologies/coalpower/ewr/pubs/NETL_Water_Paper_Final_Oct. 2005.pdf and www.netl.doe.gov/technologies/coalpower/ewr/pubs/IEP_Power_Plant_Water_R&D_F inal_1.pdf
Andy Bessler
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