Topic: Energy and Water

Overview

Energy and Water

Water and energy are interconnected. A frequent term to describe this relationship is the “water-energy nexus.”

Energy for Water: Energy is needed to store water, get it where it is needed and also treat it to be used:

*  Extracting water from rivers and streams or pumping it from aquifers, and then conveying it over hills and into storage facilities is a highly energy intensive process. The State Water Project (SWP) pumps water 700 miles, including up nearly 2,000 feet over the Tehachapi Mountains. The SWP is the largest single user of energy in California. It consumes an average of 5 billion kWh per year. That’s about 2 to 3 percent of all electricity consumed in California
*  Water treatment facilities use energy to pump and process water for use in homes, businesses and industry
*  Consumers use energy to treat water with softeners or filters, to circulate and pressurize water and to heat and cool water
*  Wastewater plants use energy to pump wastewater to treatment plants, and also to aerate and filter it at the plant.

Different end uses require more electricity for delivery than others. Water for residential, commercial and industrial end-use needs the most energy (11 percent), followed by agricultural end-use (3 percent), residential, commercial and industrial supply and treatment (3 percent), agricultural water supply and treatment (1 percent) and wastewater treatment (1 percent), according to the California Energy Commission.

Water for Energy: Water is used to generate electricity

*  Water is needed either to process raw materials used in a facility or maintaining a plant,or to just generate electricity itself.

Overall, the electricity industry is second only to agriculture as the largest user of water in the United States. Electricity production from fossil fuels and nuclear energy requires 190,000 million gallons of water per day, accounting for 39 percent of all freshwater withdrawals in the nation. Coal, the most abundant fossil fuel, currently accounts for 52 percent of U.S. electricity generation, and each kWh generated from coal requires withdrawal of 25 gallons of water.

Aquafornia news Los Angeles Times

Edison CEO: It’s ‘certainly possible’ utility sparked Eaton fire. But climate change made it worse

Before sitting down with Pedro Pizarro, president and chief executive officer of Edison International, I gave some thought to how I would ask him about the Eaton fire. Pizarro lives in Pasadena, not far from the charred remains of Altadena. His company’s biggest subsidiary — the utility Southern California Edison, which supplies electricity to 15 million people — has been accused in dozens of lawsuits of igniting the fire. Should I just straight-up ask him whether the deadly conflagration was Edison’s fault? Turned out I didn’t have to. Pizarro brought up the blaze. “We still don’t know whether Edison equipment caused the Eaton fire. It’s certainly possible it did. I’ve pledged to be transparent with the public as we continue to investigate,” he said.

Aquafornia news ABC30 (Fresno, Calif.)

California’s first solar-over-canal project now generating electricity

Project Nexus: California’s first solar-covered canals. The initiative that’s been years in the making is now generating electricity while conserving the state’s water supply. The solar panels sit over Turlock Irrigation District canals in Central California. … The project is funded by the state and is a public-private-academic partnership between Turlock Irrigation District, Solar AquaGrid, UC Merced and the California Department of Water Resources. Project Nexus stems from a 2021 research project by UC Merced alumni and project scientist, Brandi McKuin. Her study found covering canals with solar panels reduces evaporation while generating power – and brings other benefits.

Aquafornia news Las Vegas Review-Journal (Nev.)

Los Angeles owns real estate portfolio near Las Vegas

Los Angeles has long funneled masses of tourists to Las Vegas, providing much of the fuel for the casino-heavy economy here. But L.A. also has a more permanent foothold in Southern Nevada. … The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power runs a hilltop lodge in Boulder City and owns another facility nearby for DWP crews who work on transmission lines. It also owns at least 14 acres of land near Henderson’s Lake Las Vegas community and a 2.5-acre plot next to a housing tract in Henderson along Interstate 11, property records indicate. Early last year, Boulder City’s then-City Manager Taylour Tedder told the Review-Journal that he was aware of the lodge but not the DWP operations outpost in his city. … The city of L.A.’s real estate presence in Boulder City may seem random but is far from it, given Los Angeles’ ties to the iconic infrastructure project nearby: Hoover Dam.

Other LADWP news:

Aquafornia news PV magazine

California solar on canals initiative moves forward

The California Solar Canal Initiative (CSCI) aims to increase the number of solar installations on California’s canals. The initiative is led by the University of Southern California (USC) Dornsife Public Exchange and independent advisory Solar AquaGrid, and includes faculty from seven universities, six of which are in California. A 2021 study conducted by researchers from University of California, Merced, found that covering large sections of California’s 4,000 miles of canals with arrays of solar panels could help conserve water, reduce air pollution, save land and generate clean energy using existing land and infrastructure.

Related articles:

Aquafornia news Solar Power World

Seven top research universities kick off California Solar Canal Initiative

An initiative led by faculty from seven top research universities — six of which are in California — aims to accelerate the deployment of solar arrays over the state’s extensive canal network. According to a 2021 UC Merced study published in Nature Sustainability, covering large sections of the state’s 4,000 miles of canals with solar panels could help conserve water, reduce air pollution, save land and generate clean energy using existing land and infrastructure. The California Solar Canal Initiative (CSCI) research project aims to accelerate the deployment of solar canals across the state by equipping government agencies, utilities, community members and other interested parties with data on optimal locations and identifying willing host communities.

Related articles:

Aquafornia news Water Finance & Management

AMWA requests information on AI action plan; urges water considerations

The Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) said it submitted comments to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) regarding the development of a national artificial intelligence (AI) action plan. AMWA, which represents large drinking water systems across the United States, highlighted the critical intersection of AI development and water resource management in its comments. The association said it is urging policymakers to assess AI’s impact on water demand while leveraging AI for water efficiency. 

Aquafornia news American Rivers

Blog: Clean water is a vital part of energy security

We expect to hear a lot about energy in President Trump’s address to Congress on Tuesday night. One of President Trump’s latest executive orders “Establishing a National Energy Dominance Council,” aims to grow domestic energy production by changing “processes for permitting, production, distribution, regulation and transportation across all forms of American energy.” The relationship between rivers and energy development may not jump right off the page. Still, fast-tracking energy projects or lifting public safeguards energy projects, like hydropower dams, will have an impact on rivers – our most important source of drinking water.  Therefore, finding a true balance between river protection and energy development will be vital to ensuring success in achieving President Trump’s other stated goal of having the cleanest water in the world.