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Design Challenge Part 1 for EnergyExcursions.com Course:
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How Much Water Does It Take?
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Here you will look at some simple calculations to first find out how many megawatthours of each energy source Texas consumes.
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Then using the number of gallons necessary for a single megawatthour of electricty you will consider how many gallons are needed for the total number of megawatthours for each source.
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Calculations will show you the sum total amount of water needed on average to power our state annually!
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Can we reduce our water usage for power production? You will take a look at a proposed scenario and decide.
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TOTAL ANNUAL MEGAWATTHOURS OF ELECTRICTY GENERATION (2021)
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481,844,256Megawatthours (MWh)
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source: Texas Electricity Profile (EIA) 2021
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https://www.eia.gov/electricity/state/texas/
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Table A: PERCENTAGE OF GENERATION BY SOURCE
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Source %Annnual Generation (MWh)
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Natural Gas 42% 202,374,588
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Wind 24% 115,642,621
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Coal 19% 91,550,409
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Nuclear 10% 48,184,426
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Solar (Photovoltaic) 4% 19,273,770
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Other (approximate, includes other sources and rounding of #s)
1% 4,818,443
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TOTAL: 100% 481,844,256
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Looking at the table, what source provides the most generation in Texas? What source provides the least amount of electricity generation?
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source: Texas Energy Profile (Texas Comptroller) 2021
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https://comptroller.texas.gov/economy/fiscal-notes/2022/sep/energy.php
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Table B: WATER FOR ELECTRICTY GENERATION
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Take a look at the number of gallons necessary to generate 1 Megawatthour of electricty by source.
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What energy source is the most water intensive? What energy source is the least water intensive?
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Source
Gallons of water necessary for 1 MWh
Annual Generation (MWh)
Total amount of water consumed (gallons)
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Natural Gas 263 202,374,588 53,224,516,518
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Wind 0 115,642,621 -
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Coal 382 91,550,409 34,972,256,100
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Nuclear 803 48,184,426 38,692,093,757
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Solar (Photovoltaic) 26 19,273,770 501,118,026
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Other (water use considered minimal in comparison)0 4,818,443 -
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TOTAL: 481,844,256 127,389,984,401
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source: U.S. Energy Information Administration. 2023. Thermoelectric cooling water data, Final annual data for 2021 (Texas)
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https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/water/
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Bridget Scanlon and Bob Reedy. Personal communication. Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas at Austin
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source: Zerrenner, K. 2013. Which energy resources are gulping down our water? GreenBiz
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https://www.greenbiz.com/article/which-energy-resources-are-gulping-down-our-water
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YOUR TURN TO FILL OUT THE SPREADSHEET: TAKE INTO ACCOUNT A CHANGING ENERGY MIX PROPOSED BELOW
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What if a new Energy Mix was proposed for Texas where coal generation was reduced by more than half? Fill out Parts C and D (similar to the tables above), but with the percentage of coal generation reduced to 9% (done for you), natural gas increased by 5%, nuclear increased by 2%, and wind increased by 3% (solar remains the same). Check to make sure that the TOTAL = 100%
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Fill out the table below (blue cells) with the proposed new Energy Mix for Texas.
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Table C: PERCENTAGE OF GENERATION BY SOURCE
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Source %Annnual Generation (MWh)
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Natural Gas ?#VALUE!
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Wind ?#VALUE!
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Coal 9% 43,365,983
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Nuclear ?#VALUE!
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Solar (Photovoltaic) ?#VALUE!
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Other (approximate, includes other sources and rounding of #s)
1% 4,818,443
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TOTAL: 10%#VALUE!
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The table below showing water usage for this proposed new Energy Mix will self-populate.
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Table D: WATER FOR ELECTRICTY GENERATION
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Source
Gallons of water necessary for 1 MWh
Annnual Generation (MWh)
Total amount of water consumed (gallons)
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Natural Gas 263#VALUE!#VALUE!
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Wind 0#VALUE!#VALUE!
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Coal 382 43,365,983 16,565,805,521
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Nuclear 803#VALUE!#VALUE!
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Solar (Photovoltaic) 26#VALUE!#VALUE!
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Other (water use considered minimal in comparison)0 4,818,443 -
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TOTAL: #VALUE!#VALUE!
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Is this mix of energy sources (Tables C and D) for power generation more or less water intensive?
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What if the reduction in coal was accomodated solely by an increase in wind generation by 10%? Check that scenario below in Tables E and F.
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Table E. Wind at 34%: PERCENTAGE OF GENERATION BY SOURCE
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Source %Annnual Generation (MWh)
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Natural Gas ?#VALUE!
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Wind ?#VALUE!
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Coal 9% 43,365,983
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Nuclear ?#VALUE!
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Solar (Photovoltaic) ?#VALUE!
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Other (approximate, includes other sources and rounding of #s)
1% 4,818,443
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TOTAL: 10%#VALUE!
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Table F below showing water usage for this proposed new Energy Mix will self-populate.
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Table F. Wind at 34%: WATER FOR ELECTRICTY GENERATION
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Source
Gallons of water necessary for 1 MWh
Annnual Generation (MWh)
Total amount of water consumed (gallons)
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Natural Gas 263#VALUE!#VALUE!
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Wind 0#VALUE!#VALUE!
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Coal 382 43,365,983 16,565,805,521
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Nuclear 803#VALUE!#VALUE!
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Solar (Photovoltaic) 26#VALUE!#VALUE!