Graduation Date
Fall 2017
Document Type
Thesis
Program
Master of Science degree with a major in Environmental Systems, option Energy, Technology, and Policy
Committee Chair Name
Kevin Fingerman
Committee Chair Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Jim Graham
Second Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Third Committee Member Name
Andrew Stubblefield
Third Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Subject Categories
Environmental Systems
Abstract
Investigating the possibility that drought might limit the water supply needed for thermal electricity generation in California, power plant water consumption data was compared to urban and agricultural consumptive demands to identify areas where power plants might contribute to regional water stress. To identify areas where power plants might be impacted by water stress, regional power plant, urban, and agricultural water demands were also compared to the available water supply. A list of power plants that would contribute most to regional water scarcity (individually and in aggregate) was highlighted, based on the plant’s water consumption volume, water-intensity, and water source. A list of at-risk power plants, located in high water stress regions, was highlighted, based on the water source consumed by the plant. Recommendations were offered for avoiding water stress-related issues at power plants contributing most to regional water stress, or located in regions of high water stress. Numerous data quality issues were also highlighted, and recommendations proposed for mitigating those issues.
Numerous studies have looked into the water-intensity of electricity generation in California, but lack of available data from the state’s power plants have limited these studies to using literature estimates from previous studies, or to forming estimates based off of “representative” power plants. This study is believed to be the first to calculate the water-intensity of California’s electricity generation infrastructure at the individual power plant scale using water use and electricity generation data reported to the California Energy Commission.
Citation Style
APA
Recommended Citation
Hyles, Timothy S., "The water-electricity nexus in California: drought-induced risk to thermal electricity generation" (2017). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 75.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/75
Included in
Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons, Oil, Gas, and Energy Commons, Sustainability Commons, Water Resource Management Commons