WHERE WATER MATTERS, WIND WORKS

In a Water-Scarce World, Wind Power Shrugs
Timothy Hurst, March 31, 2011 (Earth & Industry via Reuters)

"…[W]ind uses a fraction of the water used by every other electrical power source per unit of energy produced (also known as 'water intensity')…On March 22, World Water Day, the wind industry took the opportunity remind everyone that not only is wind power less water intensive in an increasingly water-scarce world, but that policymakers need to consider the water consumption (and cost) of that plant today and for decades to come…

"…[M]ore than three-quarters of the current global electricity capacity requires water for cooling and condensing steam that ultimately drives turbines to generate electricity in conventional fossil fuel and nuclear power plants…[but] wind power generation requires practically no water. Even most solar photovoltaic systems require some water to keep the panels clean and operating at peak efficiency…"

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"…While nuclear and certain types of coal and natural gas power generation will consume somewhere around 3 cubic meters of water per megawatt hour (3m3/MWh), wind uses 0.0 cubic meters of water…[T]he U.S. Department of Energy estimates that 20 percent of wind power on the U.S. grid by 2030 would save as much as 4 trillion gallons of water.

"…[T]he implications may be even more important for emerging economies where water and electricity scarcity already go hand-in-hand….40 percent of the world's population already lives in water-stressed areas…[P]opulations in these areas grow and develop using traditional fossil-fueled plants…[T]he water needed to operate the plants will put additional strains on a system already stretched thin…[G]lobal water demand is predicted to outpace water supply by 40 percent by 2030."

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"…[W]ind power is…by no means…the perfect stand-alone power source. But wind power also doesn't require massive amounts of water to generate electricity, and that is a fact that is both undersold by the wind industry and undervalued by many policy makers and wind power opponents.

"If parts of the world that are facing water scarcity are also places with wind energy resources suitable for scalable wind power development…[There should] be a mechanism that…a) Recognizes and properly values current and future cost of water (both in terms of financial cost and socio-ecological cost), and; b) Provides loan guarantees, community wind financing and/or other technical, logistical and infrastructural support to get wind energy capacity online where it is most needed and appropriate…in the best interest of multiple, overlapping systems of economic, social, and environmental security."