Seasonal Climate Forecasts and Water Management for Steam-Electric Generation

Abstract

A water demand model for electricity production is presented which estimates the variability of water demand for energy production as a function of climate, especially temperature. The model incorporates the effects of temperature on both consumer energy demand levels and process evaporation for steam-electric cooling. The weather-sensitive analysis of water use contained herein is motivated by two factors. First, the electric power industry is using an increasingly large quantity of water, primarily for cooling. The extent of this use is highly dependent on weather conditions. Second, the current state-of-the-art of seasonal climate forecasting, especially temperature, continues to advance. Whether or not seasonal forecasts can be of beneficial use in water management in the electric power industry becomes an important question in the face of a prolonged water shortage.