IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v323y2022ics0306261922009163.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Energy and water without carbon: Integrated desalination and nuclear power at Diablo Canyon

Author

Listed:
  • Bouma, Andrew T.
  • Wei, Quantum J.
  • Parsons, John E.
  • Buongiorno, Jacopo
  • Lienhard, John H.

Abstract

A seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant collocated with an existing nuclear plant would have low electricity costs, could share the power plant’s seawater intake and outfall, and would have zero carbon footprint during operation. Unlike thermal desalination technologies, electrically-driven SWRO is ideal for retrofitting existing power plants because the turbines and condensers would not need expensive modifications. Here, we evaluate the techno-economic feasibility of collocating a large-scale SWRO plant with an existing nuclear power plant, specifically the 2.2 GWe Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant on California’s central coast. The seawater that cools the nuclear plant’s condensers provides the feed water for desalination. The desalination brine is diluted with the remaining condenser coolant before being discharged to the ocean. A brushed-screen intake structure, serving both the nuclear power plant and the desalination plant, can comply with strict California regulations protecting marine organisms. This coproduction arrangement has a significant cost advantage relative to a stand-alone desalination plant. The levelized cost of water (LCOW) ranges from US$0.77 to US$0.98 per m3 of fresh water, with water distribution to offtakers adding US$0.02 to US$0.21 per m3 over 20–185 km. In comparison, California’s largest desalination plant, in Carlsbad, has an LCOW of about US$1.84 per m3. These cost savings result from reduced power costs (about US$0.054 per kWh) and from sharing some expensive infrastructure. Further, nuclear electricity allows a Carlsbad-size SWRO to avoid 47 kt/y of CO2 emissions relative to grid electricity. Examination of substantially larger desalination plants introduces additional considerations. This study is the first to show that collocated SWRO and nuclear power are strongly coupled and have a significant economic advantage over seawater desalination at other sites. These benefits should apply to dozens of existing nuclear power plants worldwide.

Suggested Citation

  • Bouma, Andrew T. & Wei, Quantum J. & Parsons, John E. & Buongiorno, Jacopo & Lienhard, John H., 2022. "Energy and water without carbon: Integrated desalination and nuclear power at Diablo Canyon," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 323(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:323:y:2022:i:c:s0306261922009163
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2022.119612
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261922009163
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2022.119612?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Schallenberg-Rodríguez, Julieta & Del Rio-Gamero, Beatriz & Melian-Martel, Noemi & Lis Alecio, Tyrone & González Herrera, Javier, 2020. "Energy supply of a large size desalination plant using wave energy. Practical case: North of Gran Canaria," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(C).
    2. Plappally, A.K. & Lienhard V, J.H., 2012. "Energy requirements for water production, treatment, end use, reclamation, and disposal," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(7), pages 4818-4848.
    3. Hong, Sanghyun & Bradshaw, Corey J.A. & Brook, Barry W., 2015. "Global zero-carbon energy pathways using viable mixes of nuclear and renewables," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 451-459.
    4. Schlenker, Wolfram & Hanemann, W Michael & Fisher, Anthony C, 2007. "Water Availability, Degree Days, and the Potential Impact of Climate Change on Irrigated Agriculture in California," Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley, Working Paper Series qt8q8309qn, Department of Agricultural & Resource Economics, UC Berkeley.
    5. Athawale, Rasika & Felder, Frank A., 2014. "Incentives for Combined Heat and Power plants: How to increase societal benefits?," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 121-132.
    6. Yuan, Mengyao & Tong, Fan & Duan, Lei & Dowling, Jacqueline A. & Davis, Steven J. & Lewis, Nathan S. & Caldeira, Ken, 2020. "Would firm generators facilitate or deter variable renewable energy in a carbon-free electricity system?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    7. Baker, T.E. & Epiney, A.S. & Rabiti, C. & Shittu, E., 2018. "Optimal sizing of flexible nuclear hybrid energy system components considering wind volatility," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 498-508.
    8. Bogdanov, Dmitrii & Gulagi, Ashish & Fasihi, Mahdi & Breyer, Christian, 2021. "Full energy sector transition towards 100% renewable energy supply: Integrating power, heat, transport and industry sectors including desalination," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    9. Ou, Yang & Shi, Wenjing & Smith, Steven J. & Ledna, Catherine M. & West, J. Jason & Nolte, Christopher G. & Loughlin, Daniel H., 2018. "Estimating environmental co-benefits of U.S. low-carbon pathways using an integrated assessment model with state-level resolution," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 482-493.
    10. Jenkins, J.D. & Zhou, Z. & Ponciroli, R. & Vilim, R.B. & Ganda, F. & de Sisternes, F. & Botterud, A., 2018. "The benefits of nuclear flexibility in power system operations with renewable energy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 872-884.
    11. Eltawil, Mohamed A. & Zhengming, Zhao & Yuan, Liqiang, 2009. "A review of renewable energy technologies integrated with desalination systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(9), pages 2245-2262, December.
    12. Godart, Peter & Hart, Douglas, 2020. "Aluminum-powered climate change resiliency: From aluminum debris to electricity and clean water," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    13. Altmann, Thomas & Robert, Justin & Bouma, Andrew & Swaminathan, Jaichander & Lienhard, John H., 2019. "Primary energy and exergy of desalination technologies in a power-water cogeneration scheme," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 252(C), pages 1-1.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dong, Zhe & Liu, Miao & Guo, Zhiwu & Huang, Xiaojin & Zhang, Yajun & Zhang, Zuoyi, 2019. "Adaptive state-observer for monitoring flexible nuclear reactors," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 893-909.
    2. Dong, Zhe & Liu, Miao & Zhang, Zuoyi & Dong, Yujie & Huang, Xiaojin, 2019. "Automatic generation control for the flexible operation of multimodular high temperature gas-cooled reactor plants," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 11-31.
    3. Michaelson, D. & Jiang, J., 2021. "Review of integration of small modular reactors in renewable energy microgrids," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    4. Zhe Dong & Miao Liu & Di Jiang & Xiaojin Huang & Yajun Zhang & Zuoyi Zhang, 2018. "Automatic Generation Control of Nuclear Heating Reactor Power Plants," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-18, October.
    5. Epiney, A. & Rabiti, C. & Talbot, P. & Alfonsi, A., 2020. "Economic analysis of a nuclear hybrid energy system in a stochastic environment including wind turbines in an electricity grid," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    6. Dong, Zhe & Li, Bowen & Li, Junyi & Guo, Zhiwu & Huang, Xiaojin & Zhang, Yajun & Zhang, Zuoyi, 2021. "Flexible control of nuclear cogeneration plants for balancing intermittent renewables," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    7. Sadegh Modarresi, M. & Abada, Bilal & Sivaranjani, S. & Xie, Le & Chellam, Shankararaman, 2020. "Planning of survivable nano-grids through jointly optimized water and electricity: The case of Colonias at the Texas-Mexico border," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(C).
    8. Steve Newbold & Charles Griffiths & Christopher C. Moore & Ann Wolverton & Elizabeth Kopits, 2010. "The "Social Cost of Carbon" Made Simple," NCEE Working Paper Series 201007, National Center for Environmental Economics, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, revised Aug 2010.
    9. Altaee, Ali & Zhou, John & Alhathal Alanezi, Adnan & Zaragoza, Guillermo, 2017. "Pressure retarded osmosis process for power generation: Feasibility, energy balance and controlling parameters," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 303-311.
    10. Lund, Henrik & Thellufsen, Jakob Zinck & Sorknæs, Peter & Mathiesen, Brian Vad & Chang, Miguel & Madsen, Poul Thøis & Kany, Mikkel Strunge & Skov, Iva Ridjan, 2022. "Smart energy Denmark. A consistent and detailed strategy for a fully decarbonized society," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    11. Łukasz Jarosław Kozar & Robert Matusiak & Marta Paduszyńska & Adam Sulich, 2022. "Green Jobs in the EU Renewable Energy Sector: Quantile Regression Approach," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-21, September.
    12. Ji, Xinde & Cobourn, Kelly M. & Weng, Weizhe, 2018. "The Effect of Climate Change on Irrigated Agriculture: Water-Temperature Interactions and Adaptation in the Western U.S," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274306, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    13. Jenkins, J.D. & Zhou, Z. & Ponciroli, R. & Vilim, R.B. & Ganda, F. & de Sisternes, F. & Botterud, A., 2018. "The benefits of nuclear flexibility in power system operations with renewable energy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 872-884.
    14. Audoly, Richard & Vogt-Schilb, Adrien & Guivarch, Céline & Pfeiffer, Alexander, 2018. "Pathways toward zero-carbon electricity required for climate stabilization," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C), pages 884-901.
    15. Wuliyasu Bai & Liang Yan & Jingbo Liang & Long Zhang, 2022. "Mapping Knowledge Domain on Economic Growth and Water Sustainability: A Scientometric Analysis," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 36(11), pages 4137-4159, September.
    16. Nock, Destenie & Baker, Erin, 2019. "Holistic multi-criteria decision analysis evaluation of sustainable electric generation portfolios: New England case study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C), pages 655-673.
    17. Nogueira Vilanova, Mateus Ricardo & Perrella Balestieri, José Antônio, 2014. "Energy and hydraulic efficiency in conventional water supply systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 701-714.
    18. Alhadhrami, Saeed & Soto, Gabriel J & Lindley, Ben, 2023. "Dispatch analysis of flexible power operation with multi-unit small modular reactors," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).
    19. Carlo Fezzi & Ian Bateman, 2015. "The Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture: Nonlinear Effects and Aggregation Bias in Ricardian Models of Farmland Values," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 2(1), pages 57-92.
    20. Hirsh Bar Gai, Dor & Shittu, Ekundayo & Attanasio, Donna & Weigelt, Carmen & LeBlanc, Saniya & Dehghanian, Payman & Sklar, Scott, 2021. "Examining community solar programs to understand accessibility and investment: Evidence from the U.S," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:323:y:2022:i:c:s0306261922009163. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.