Water consumption of various Energy sources

From Anne Goddard from Climate Change Action

with thanks to Adam Dempsey for the document(s) below

Nukes: 2.3 L/ per kWh

vs Wind: 0.004 L/ per kWh,

Solar (PV): 0.11 L/ per kWh

How Much Water Do Wind Turbines Use Compared with Conventional Power Plants?

How much water do wind turbines use compared with conventional power plants? Water use can be a significant issue in energy production, particularly in areas where water is scarce, as conventional power plants use large amounts of water for the condensing portion of the thermodynamic cycle. For coal plants, water is also used to clean and process fuel. According to the California Energy Commission (cited in Paul Gipe's WIND ENERGY COMES OF AGE, John Wiley & Sons, 1995), conventional power plants consume the following amounts of water (through evaporative loss, not including water that is recaptured and treated for further use):

WATER CONSUMPTION- -CONVENTIONAL POWER PLANTS

Technology	gallons/kWh	litres/kWh
Nuclear	0.62	2.30
Coal	0.49	1.90
Oil	0.43	1.60
Combined Cycle	0.25	0.95

Small amounts of water are used to clean wind turbine rotor blades in arid climates (where rainfall does not keep the blades clean). The purpose of blade cleaning is to eliminate dust and insect buildup, which otherwise deforms the shape of the airfoil and degrades performance.

Similarly, small amounts of water are used to clean photovoltaics panels.

Water use numbers for these two technologies are as follows:

WATER CONSUMPTION- -WIND AND SOLAR

Technology	gallons/kWh	liters/kWh
Wind [1]	0.001	0.004
PV [2]	0.030	0.110

Wind therefore uses less than 1/600 as much water per unit of electricity produced as does nuclear, and approximately 1/500 as much as coal.

NOTES

[1] American Wind Energy Association estimate, based on data obtained in personal communication with Brian Roach, Fluidyne Corp., December 13, 1996. Assumes 250-kW turbine operating at .25 capacity factor, with blades washed four times annually.

[2] Meridian Corp., "Energy System Emissions and Materials Requirements, " U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC. 1989, p. 23.



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QLD Premier Peter Beattie, 28/10/06

"At a time when our farming communities are hurting badly, it is a folly for (Prime Minister John) Howard to be entertaining the thought of nuclear power stations in Queensland or anywhere else," he said.



"Many towns and shires in our state are struggling to get enough drinking water, let alone enough to satisfy the amount a nuclear station would need to guzzle."



Mr Beattie said an independent study commissioned by the Queensland government showed a nuclear power station would use 25 per cent more water than a coal-fired power station.



Mr Beattie said a coal-fired power station produced up to 1,400 megawatts of electricity a year and used around 19,500 megalitres of water to condense and recycle steam.



He said a nuclear power station producing the same output would need about 25,000 megalitres.



"That is the equivalent of at least an additional 5,000 Olympic-size swimming pools a year," Mr Beattie said.



"It is water that we simply cannot afford when drought and climate change are drying up water supplies."



He said nuclear power stations needed a guaranteed water supply and a strong connection to an electricity grid, implying a nuclear power plant would need to be close to the eastern seaboard.



"Where is Mr Howard planning to put it? Is it Townsville or Mackay or perhaps further down along the coastline on the Sunshine Coast or Gold Coast?



"Even then a guaranteed water supply to meet minimum safety concerns would be a tall order.



A guarantee like that is tough at the best of times, let alone in the middle of the worst drought on record."