WATER AND ENERGY IN
CALIFORNIA
The Water Agency Story
Presentation to PANC
by
Lon W. House, Ph.D.
530.676.8956
[email protected]
July 14, 2009
San Francisco
Water Energy
• There is exactly the same amount of water on earth
as there has always been. We are drinking the same
water the dinosaurs drank.
• We use energy to:
– access water
• groundwater
– treat water
• take out minerals / chemicals / contaminants
– store water
– move water to where we want to use it
– treat water for end use
• pressurize, add heat / cool or chemicals
– collect wastewater
– treat wastewater
California Water
Transfer Projects -Federal CVP, San Francisco’s Hetch
Hetchy, Los Angeles Aqueduct
Colorado River
> 5 MAF/yr.  4.4 MAF/yr.
State Water Project
3.0 – 4.2 MAF/yr.
Avg. Energy Use/yr. 12.2 Billion kWh
Avg. Energy Generation/yr. 7.6 Billion
kWh
Summary
•
Water agencies are single largest electricity end users in
California ~3,200 MW maximum demand
– Water agencies already curtail approximately 400 MW of on-peak
demand
•
Water agency solutions to California electricity problems
– Additional peak demand curtailment - +250 MW from existing
systems, +1,000 MW with more storage, +250 MW with TOU
water meters/rates
– Water agency generation
• 500+ MW of standby generators available
• Hydro - 1,631 MW existing, +500 MW new small (250 MW >1
MW, 250 MW < 1 MW)
• Biogas - 40 MW, 36 MW new potential
• Natural gas engines - existing ~100 MW, 200 MW additional
potential
• Solar - 28 MW, +1000 MW potential
• Wind – 1.5 MW, 5 MW potential
•
Water agencies potential for increased demand + ~3,575 MW
(next 10 years)
– Existing conjunctive use in drought/dry years ~350MW
– Proposed conjunctive use development/drought ~ +1,350 MW
– Desalinization ~250 MW salt water plus 250 MW desalting
groundwater = +500 MW
– Electrification of ag diesel pumps = +350 MW
– Increased treatment requirements = +160 MW
– Increased water marketing - +230 MW
– Increased recycled water use - +685 MW
Water Agency Demand
Characteristics
• ~3,200 MW maximum demand currently
– ~2,800 MW summer on-peak demand
• water agencies currently shift approximately
400 MW out of the summer on peak period,
primarily due to TOU rates (using storage
and natural gas engines)
• Minimum load ~900 MW
• Annual load factor ~0.62
• Seasonal - summer maximum demand is 33
percent higher than winter max; summer
energy use is ~60 percent of annual use
3,500
2,000,000
1,800,000
3,000
1,600,000
2,500
1,400,000
MW
1,000,000
1,500
800,000
600,000
1,000
400,000
500
200,000
0
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Month
Max Demand
On Peak Demand
kWh
12
kWh
1,200,000
2,000
New Water Electricity
Requirements
• Conjunctive Use - 350 MW existing –
1350 MW new
• Desalinization - 500 MW
(250 desalting
+ 250 MW ocean desal)
• Drought/Climate Change
• Increased Treatment
Requirements - 160 MW
• Increased Water Marketing - 230
MW
• Electrification of Ag Diesel
Pumps - 350 MW
• Increased Conservation – recycled
water, agricultural conservation - 685 MW
California Seawater
Desalination Projects (18)
10 Northern California
8 Southern California
2008 – 2015 - ¼ to 50 MGD Capacity
975,000 to 1,247,000m3/day
 260 -- 330 MGD
 0.28 -- 0.36 MAF/yr
$2.75/k gal – $5.12/k gal ~4700kWh/acre-ft
Potential Southern
California Sites
21 million acre-feet dry year
storage
Water Agency Hydroelectric
Generation
Existing
size
< 1 MW
1-10MW
10-100MW
> 100 MW
Potential New
#
42
54
25
3
124
MW
20
215
790
606
1631
500
Estimated Electricity Generation
Potential from WWTP Digester Gas in
California
Biogas Available from WWTP
CH4)
(Containing 60%
Gross
16 Billion ft3/yr
Technically Useable 11 Billion ft3/yr
23 Existing WWT Plants to Electricity ~ 40
MW
(Range 50 kW -- 15 MW; 18 sites < 2 MW; 5 sites > 2
MW)
WWT Plants w/o Energy Recovery
Operations
222 plants
2 plants
50 plants from
170 plants
37 MW Potential
> 1 MW
200 kW - 1 MW
< 200 kW
Wind/Solar
• Solar -Water agencies single
largest sector for solar
installations in California - 18
MW operating, 48 MW under
construction/consideration,
500+ MW being investigated.
• Wind – 1.5 MW operating, up
to 5 MW under consideration.
Efficiency
Improvements
in Water
Implementation
Areas
• Energy efficiency in water system
• Recycled water use
• Reduction of peak electrical demand
in water system
• Elimination of waste - primarily a
customer area
• Understanding of timing and
quantity of use through smart
metering
• Utility de-coupling of water sales
and total income to encourage
conservation
Principle Elements in Water
Systems
(all require energy inputs)
1.
2.
3.
4.
Primary water extraction, conveyance, storage (in some
cases) and supply delivery
Treatment and distribution
Customer on-site water pumping, treatment (chemicals),
and thermal inputs (heating and cooling)
Wastewater collection and treatment
7% of California
electricity use
12% of
California
electricity
use
California Recycled Water
• Water recycling = big savings. Reusing available water
results in less fresh water being extracted, and reusing that
water results in significant energy reductions compared to
using more fresh water.
• 166 towns and cities in California now use recycled water
• California has a policy that no fresh water can be used for
electricity production if there are feasible alternatives
Water Treatment
There can be significant-and permanent -energy savings by
employing more efficient treatment
EID El Dorado Hills
Raw Water and
Treatment Plant - July
15-21, 2006
AMR Meters
Leak Detection
AMR Meters Even/Odd
Day Conservation Program
Why Water Savings
Programs Are Better
Than Energy Savings
•
Less overhead
– Energy projects are typically run by the electric utilities.
Water efficiency programs typically deliver much more of
the dollars spent in the actual on-the-ground projects.
•
Water efficiency savings more permanent
– Energy efficiency tends to be much more transitory, due to
the substitution (Snackwell) effect. As population in
California doubled during the last 30 years, electricity use
has doubled, whereas water use has stayed the same.
•
Water efficiency saves both water and energy, energy
efficiency savings save only energy
– Between 3-5% of all the electricity used in the U.S. is used
to treat and distribute water (in California the number is
over 7%). That means every time you save water you also
are saving the energy that was previously used to treat and
distribute that water.
– When you save energy (with a more efficient refrigerator)
you only save energy, no water. Water savings gives you
double bang for your buck.
California Water-Energy
Pilot Program
The CPUC pilot allows the investor owned energy utilities (IOUs)
to partner with a water provider to implement a jointly funded
program designed to maximize embedded energy savings per
dollar of program cost. This pilot focuses on efforts that would:
• Conserve water
• Use less energy-intensive water
• Make delivery and treatment systems more efficient
• Determine actual water savings and actual energy
savings
The goal is to develop electric / gas utility programs that save water
as a means to saving energy.
The Programs
• Multifamily High Efficiency Toilets
• Single Family High Efficiency Toilets
• pH and ET Controllers - commercial/industrial facilities
• Leak Detection Water Systems
• Large Customer - Ozonation
• Emerging Technology - water system SCADA systems
• Recycled Water
• Managed Landscape - ET controllers
• Natural Gas Pump Efficiency
• SDG&E Large Customer Audits
Conclusions
• Water agencies major energy users
– Contribute over 400 MW to on-peak demand
reduction
• Could increase to almost 1000 MW
• Water agencies poised to significantly
increase electrical demand
– New water sources are more energy
intensive than existing
• lower quality water, further distances
– New treatment uses more energy
• Water agencies can meet a significant
portion of their electrical demand with
renewable generation
• Improving water systems energy efficiency
has significant and long lasting impact.
Recommended
Policies
• Encourage water customers to
increase their water efficiency
• Encourage water systems to
invest in more efficient
components
• Allow water systems to
generate more of their own
power
– biogas, solar, wind, small hydro
A GALLON SAVED IS A WATT SAVED