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Replacing Coal with Gas or Renewables Saves Billions of Gallons of Water:
"While most attention has been focused on the climate and air quality benefits of switching from coal, this new study shows that the transition to natural gas—and even more so, to renewable energy sources—has resulted in saving billions of gallons of water," said Avner Vengosh, professor of geochemistry and water quality at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment.
[...] "For every megawatt of electricity produced using natural gas instead of coal, the amount of water withdrawn from local rivers and groundwater is reduced by 10,500 gallons, the equivalent of a 100-day water supply for a typical American household," said Andrew Kondash, a postdoctoral researcher at Duke, who led the study as part of his doctoral dissertation under Vengosh.
[...] If all coal-fired power plants are converted to natural gas, the annual water savings will reach 12,250 billion gallons—that's 260% of current annual U.S. industrial water use.
Although the magnitude of water use for coal mining and fracking is similar, cooling systems in natural gas power plants use much less water in general than those in coal plants. That can quickly add up to substantial savings, since 40% of all water use in the United States currently goes to cooling thermoelectric plants, Vengosh noted.
[...] Even further savings could be realized by switching to solar or wind energy. The new study shows that the water intensity of these renewable energy sources, as measured by water use per kilowatt of electricity, is only 1% to 2% of coal or natural gas's water intensity.
"Switching to solar or wind energy would eliminate much of the water withdrawals and water consumption for electricity generation in the U.S.," Vengosh said.
Quantification of the water-use reduction associated with the transition from coal to natural gas in the U.S. electricity sector, Environmental Research Letters (DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/ab4d71)
(Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday October 23 2019, @10:07AM (4 children)
I'd consider water used in processing coal ash and other polluting activities to be "used".
All "used water," even sewage sent directly into the ocean, is recycled. Once it has been withdrawn from a usable drinking aquifer and not directly returned to that same aquifer (as does happen with some thermal ground cycles), I'd consider that water "used" and needing to be recharged into the less than 1% of water which "accessible and fresh".
https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/where-earths-water?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects [usgs.gov]
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(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday October 23 2019, @05:25PM (3 children)
They're just recycling an armchair complaint that doesn't apply to this case.
Wastewater from the oil and gas industry is primarily disposed of through wastewater injection. They take the polluted water and inject it down the borehole to displace additional gas.
The gas is below a layer of impermeable shale and is very far below the water table. So this water does not end up back in the aquifer.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday October 23 2019, @06:42PM (2 children)
I ain't heard slick talk like that since I left Houston... you got oil money in yer family or what?
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(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday October 23 2019, @07:50PM (1 child)
I do environmental compliance work for the oil and gas industry.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday October 23 2019, @08:16PM
Yeah, we knew a Pelican washer when we lived in Clear Lake... so, when you say you "do it for the industry" who signs the paychecks?
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