Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Brackish groundwater

A cool water option for thermoelectric power generation

Treatment of brackish groundwater can help to alleviate potential competition for freshwater resources between the power sector and other sectors in water-stressed regions.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Installed capacity of thermoelectric power plants cooled with non-fresh water sources or dry cooling.

References

  1. Dieter, C.A. et al. Estimated Use of Water in the United States in 2015 (USGS, 2018); https://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1441/circ1441.pdf

  2. Macknick, J., Newmark, R., Heath, G. & Hallett, K. C. Environ. Res. Lett. 7, 045802 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. McCall, J. & Macknick, J. Water-related Power Plant Curtailments: An Overview of Incidents and Contributing Factors (NREL, 2016); https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy17osti/67084.pdf

  4. Wu, Z., Zhai, H., Grol, E. J., Able, C. M. & Siefert, N. S. Nat. Water https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-023-00072-x (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Stanton, J. S. et al. Brackish Groundwater in the United States (USGS, 2017); https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1833/pp1833.pdf

  6. Thermoelectric Cooling Water Data (US EIA, 2023); https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/water/

  7. Electricity explained: Electricity Generation, Capacity, and Sales in the United States (US EIA, 2022); https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/electricity-in-the-us-generation-capacity-and-sales.php

  8. Stillwell, A. S. & Webber, M. E. Environ. Sci. Technol. 48, 4588–4595 (2014).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Mayor, B. Water Resour. Res. 56, 2019WR025841 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vincent Tidwell.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Tidwell, V. A cool water option for thermoelectric power generation. Nat Water 1, 420–421 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-023-00081-w

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-023-00081-w

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing Anthropocene

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Anthropocene newsletter — what matters in anthropocene research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Anthropocene