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NRDC Switchboard: At the confluence of water use and energy production

Posted by: Maven on October 1, 2009 at 6:25 am

From Pierre Bull at the NRDC Switchboard blog:

“On my commute on the NYC subway this morning (which by the way I discovered is decreasing in carbon intensity), I came across this New York Times story, “Alternative Energy Projects Stumble on a Need for Water” by Todd Woody that described the problem of water resource scarcity in driving potential new development of concentrating solar power (CSP). CSP technologies show much promise as a relative low cost renewable energy resource that can tap into the very sunny American Desert Southwest.

One of the key takeaways from the article is on water scarcity shaping new technology development:

Conflicts over water could shape the future of many energy technologies. The most water-efficient renewable technologies are not necessarily the most economical, but water shortages could give them a competitive edge.

The article goes on to give dimension to the size of the CSP market under consideration and the amount of water that some projects will require:

In California alone, plans are under way for 35 large-scale solar projects that, in bright sunshine, would generate 12,000 megawatts of electricity, equal to the output of about 10 nuclear power plants. …

Their water use would vary widely. BrightSource Energy’s dry-cooled Ivanpah project in Southern California would consume an estimated 25 million gallons a year, mainly to wash mirrors. But a wet-cooled solar trough power plant barely half Ivanpah’s size proposed by the Spanish developer Abengoa Solar would draw 705 million gallons of water in an area of the Mojave Desert that receives scant rainfall. [I have included more numbers on these projects below.] …”

Read more from the NRDC Switchboard blog by clicking here.

October 1, 2009 · Filed Under Energy & Water

Comments

2 Responses to “NRDC Switchboard: At the confluence of water use and energy production”

  1. NRDC Switchboard: At the confluence of water use and energy production | H2O Report on October 1st, 2009 12:45 pm

    [...] here:  NRDC Switchboard: At the confluence of water use and energy production beaches, conservation, contact-aquafornia, delta, delta-issues, desalination, events, news, [...]

  2. Emily on October 1st, 2009 2:53 pm

    Interesting point, thanks!

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