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WATER, ENERGY & SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

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Water Policy in the Americas Roundtable Organization of American States

Presentation by

Dr. Allan R. HoffmanU.S. Department of Energy

June 15, 2000

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OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION

• Introductory material– Energy & Environment Security Initiative– DOE approach– Perspectives– Health issues– Message

• Water pumping• Desalination• Water treatment• DOE capabilities• Conclusions• Contact information

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ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL SECURITY

At the U.S. Department of Energy, water issues are being addressed under the Energy & Environment Security Initiative, a formal joint activity with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Defense (and supported by the U.S. Department of State).

The Initiative has two goals:

• The identification of energy and other environmental stresses that could lead to political and economic instability and/or the outbreak of political conflict

• The identification and implementation of measures that can help alleviate these stresses

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DOE’s APPROACH TO WATER ISSUES

• Water is needed for a number of end-uses:• drinking water• agriculture• power plants• industrial processes• sanitation

• Optimal solutions can be obtained through a systems approach that integrates consideration of various end-uses, their energy requirements, and their associated economic and environmental costs

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SOME INTERESTING PERSPECTIVES

• “Many of the wars in this century were about oil, but wars of the next century will be about water.” (Ismail Serageldin, Vice President, World Bank, 1996)

• “The next war in the Middle East will be over water, not politics.” (Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Secretary General, United Nations, 1991)

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BASIC FACTS: HEALTH ISSUES

• More than a billion people lack access to safe drinking water

• About 4 million children below age 5 die each year from waterborne diarrheal diseases (400 per hour)

• About 60 million children annually reach maturity stunted due to severe nutrient loss/complications from multiple diarrheal episodes

• About 1 billion people boil their drinking water at home

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A SIMPLE MESSAGE

• How to deal with water issues will be a major global concern in the 21st century

• An important part of addressing water issues is having the energy needed to transport, treat or desalinate water resources

• A systems approach (e.g., addressing water needs on a regional basis) can produce optimal solutions

• Water and energy are key components of sustainable economic development, and are inextricably linked

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PUMPING WATER Case Studies from the USAID/USDOE Renewable Energy Program in Mexico

• USAID development goals:– improved agriculture, health, education and

environmental protection– rural community development

• electrification• potable water

• Cost-effective renewable energy systems can help meet development goals

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LIFE-CYCLE COST ANALYSISSolar Powered vs. Conventional Water

Pumping Systems

CHARACTERISTIC SOLAR CONVENTIONAL

Initial capital cost high low

Replacement costs low high

O&M costs low high

Fuel costs none high

Environmental impact low high

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TWO CASE STUDIES

• El Jeromin, Chihuahua: – Cattle ranch – “chamizo” grown for cattle feed– Water required: 15,000 liters per day

• Agua Blanca, BCS– Livestock/irrigation ranch (1001 hectares)– Water required: 25,000 liters per day

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Life-Cycle Cost Analysis Case Study-El Jeromín, Chihuahua

PV water pumpingsystem

(848 Wp)

Conventional system(15 kW generator & AC

pump)Initial capital cost $10,491 $3,785

Replacements Grundfos Pump – 20years

AC Pump – 6 yearsGenerator – 10 years

Operation andmaintenance

1% initial capitalcost/year

$200/year

O&M transportation $72 -12 visits $312 – 52 visits

Fuel costs None 7,980 liters/year$3,770/year

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Case Study - El Jeromín, Chihuahua

Results• After 2

years, the PV system represents a lower overall expense to the user

$0

$10,000

$20,000

$30,000

$40,000

$50,000

$60,000

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Years

Do

lla

rs (

$U

S)

Photovoltaic System

Conventional System

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Life-Cycle Cost Analysis Case Study-Agua Blanca, BCS

PV water pumpingsystem

(800 Wp)

Conventional system(6.0 kW gasoline motor

pump)Initial capital costs

Initial system costIrrigation systemWater tank

$9,250$1,325$2,160

$2,018$1,325$2,160

Replacements Solarjack pump – 10years

Gasoline motor pump – 6years

Operation andmaintenance

1% initial capitalcost/year

$200/year

O&M transportation $72 -12 visits $312 – 52 visits

Fuel costs None 2,078 liters/year$982/year

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Case Study - Agua Blanca, BCS Results

• Six years after installation, the PV system represents a lower overall expense

$0

$5,000

$10,000

$15,000

$20,000

$25,000

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Years

Do

lla

rs (

$US

)

Photovoltaic System

Conventional System

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DESALINATION

• A process for removing dissolved minerals (including, but not limited to, salt) from seawater, brackish water, or treated wastewater

• A number of technologies have have been developed for desalination: reverse osmosis, electrodialysis, vacuum freezing, distillation, capacitive deionization.

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DESALINATION (continued)

• While much can be done to improve management of existing water supplies, there is broad agreement that extensive use of desalination will be required to meet the water needs of a growing world population

• At present, only 0.36% of the world’s waters in rivers, lakes and swamps is sufficiently accessible to be considered a fresh water resource

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KEY DESALINATION TECHNOLOGIES

• Reverse Osmosis: – pressure is applied to intake water, forcing water molecules through

semipermeable membrane. Salt molecules do not pass through membrane. Product water that passes through is potable.

– On average, energy (electrical) accounts for 41% of total cost.– 5,800-12,000 kWh/AF (4.7-5.7 kWh/m3)*

• Distillation:– intake water heated to produce steam. Steam is condensed to produce

product water with low salt concentration. – energy requirements for distillation technologies (electrical and thermal) are

higher than for reverse osmosis technologies.– 28,500-33,000 kWh/AF (23-27 kWh/m3)*------------------------------------------------------------------

* does not include energy required for pre-treatment, brine disposal and water transport

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KEY DESALINATION FACTS

• Energy costs are a principal barrier to greater use of desalination technologies (disposal of residual brine is another)

• More than 120 countries are now using some desalted seawater, but mostly in the Persian Gulf where energy costs are low (oil, natural gas)

• Cost of seawater desalination using reverse osmosis has fallen:– $23 per 1,000 gallons in 1978 ($5.26/m3) – $2 per 1,000 gallons ($0.55/m3) today (Tampa: 35 million m3/day)

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UV Waterworks: Motivation

• 1993 “Bengal Cholera” outbreak in India, Bangladesh and Thailand

• Existing alternatives for water treatment often have significant drawbacks– boiling (over biomass cookstove)– chlorination– reverse osmosis

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UV Waterworks: Design Criteria

• Energy efficient• Low cost• Reliable under field conditions• No overdose risk• Off-the-shelf components• Can treat unpressurized water• Rapid throughput• Low maintenance• Simple design/fabricable in developing countries

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UV Waterworks: How It Works

• Water flows by gravity under a UV lamp for 12 seconds

• UV radiation kills 99.9999% of bacteria, 99.99% of viruses

• No change in taste or odor/no chemicals introduced

• Disinfects 4 gallons (15 liters) per minute

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UV Waterworks: How It Works(continued)

• Power requirement: 60 watts• Disinfects 1,000 liters of water for less than 5

cents (annual cost per person: 14 cents)• Unit needs maintenance only once every six

months – performed by local technicians• Energy consumption 6,000 times less than boiling

water over cookstove• Units extensively tested, commercially available • Portable version developed for disaster-relief

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HOW CAN THE U.S. DOE HELP?

DOE has a number of technologies and capabilities that would be useful in addressing water quantity and quality issues:

- UV Waterworks unit developed at DOE national laboratory (LBNL) - Capacitive Deionization (CDI) process under development at another DOE laboratory (LLNL)

- modeling and simulation (using advanced computer capabilities)

- monitoring, sensors and telemetry for remote monitoring

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HOW CAN THE U.S. DOE HELP?(continued)

• Characterization of water resources

• Site remediation, pollution prevention and waste treatment (to be discussed at September meeting of the Roundtable)

• Application of renewable electric technologies to desalination and water pumping and treatment

• Planning and management of large projects

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CONCLUSIONS

• Water issues will be a major global concern

in the 21st century, and a potential source of conflict

• Addressing water issues requires joint consideration of a broad range of issues – health, agricultural, economic, political and energy

• Water and energy issues are closely linked

• Renewable energy is likely to play a major role in addressing water issues, especially in developing countries

• Where applicable, a systems approach will yield optimum results

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CONTACT INFORMATION

NAME TEL. # E-MAILGene Delatorre (DOE) 202-586-6121 gene.delatorre@hq.doe.gov

Peter Ritzcovan (DOE) 202-586-1275 peter.ritzcovan@em.doe.gov

Barbara Bishop (DOE) 202-586-2065 barbara.bishop@hq.doe.gov

Jeff Richardson (LLNL) 925-423-5187 richardson6@llnl.gov

Richard Knapp (LLNL) 925-423-3328 knapp4@llnl.gov

Dennis Hjeresen (LANL) 505-665-7281 dennish@lanl.gov

Tom Scott (ORO) 410-384-7388 ts9@y12.doe.gov

Allan Hoffman (DOE) 202-586-1786 allan.hoffman@hq.doe.gov

EESI web site http://eesi.ornl.gov