Water supply risks for thermoelectric power plants considering climate change 

Abstract

Water and energy are inextricably connected as water is needed for energy development and vice versa. This linkage is referred to as water-energy nexus, which highlights the need for integrated management and study of both resources. The nexus becomes even more complicated with climate change as both resources are greatly impacted by climate change. This study is aimed to assess the impact of climate change on water demand by thermoelectric power plants. The Integrated Environmental Control Model (IECM) and the Global Climate Model (GCM) are integrated to simulate water demand under future climate scenarios. The daily, monthly, and yearly water demand by selected thermoelectric power plants in Illinois are examined to explore the temporal patterns of climate change impact on water-energy nexus. Initial results showed that water use is more sensitive to shorter timescales. Compared with water withdrawal, water consumption is more sensitive to climate change.  This approach is also coupled with a hydrological model, specifically, a HSPF model, to assess the water supply risks to thermoelectric power plants in the future climate scenarios.