Water-Smart Power

The report examines the vulnerability of the U.S. power sector to water constraints and climate change, comparing a 'business as usual' pathway with low-carbon alternatives. It finds that a combination of renewable energy and energy efficiency can drastically reduce water withdrawals and consumption while lowering consumer costs and mitigating climate impacts.

• The U.S. electricity sector is highly dependent on water, with power plants accounting for over 40 percent of U.S. freshwater withdrawals in 2005 and contributing one-third of heat-trapping emissions in 2011.
• Extreme weather events in 2011 and 2012 demonstrated the vulnerability of the power sector, leading to reduced output or shutdowns at plants such as the Gallatin coal plant in Tennessee and the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant on the Connecticut River.
• A 'business as usual' pathway for the U.S. electricity mix would see natural gas dominate, supplying nearly 60 percent of power by 2050, but it would fail to reduce carbon emissions or significantly lower water consumption for decades.
• A 'renewables-and-efficiency' scenario could reduce water withdrawals by 97 percent and water consumption by 85 percent by 2050 compared to current levels, while providing electricity bills nearly one-third lower than the business-as-usual case.
• Not all low-carbon options are water-smart; technologies such as nuclear energy, carbon capture and storage for coal, and water-cooled renewables (biomass, geothermal, or concentrating solar) can maintain or increase water stress.
• Water-smart electricity choices have measurable local benefits, such as increasing summer and fall flows in the Chattahoochee River by 5 to 10 percent by 2025 and cooling the Coosa River by 3°F to 13°F between 2030 and 2039.
• Choosing a renewables-and-efficiency pathway over business as usual could result in nearly 600 billion gallons more stored water in Lake Mead and Lake Powell by 2040.

APA

Rogers, J., Averyt, K., Clemmer, S., Davis, M., Flores-Lopez, F., Kenney, D., Macknick, J., Madden, N., Meldrum, J., Sattler, S., Spanger-Siegfried, E., & Yates, D. (2013). Water-Smart Power. Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Water-Smart-Power-Executive-Summary.pdf

Chicago

Rogers, John, Kristen Averyt, Steve Clemmer, Michelle Davis, Francisco Flores-Lopez, Doug Kenney, Jordan Macknick, et al. Water-Smart Power. Union of Concerned Scientists, 2013. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Water-Smart-Power-Executive-Summary.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{rogers2013watersmart, author = {Rogers, John and Averyt, Kristen and Clemmer, Steve and Davis, Michelle and Flores-Lopez, Francisco and Kenney, Doug and Macknick, Jordan and Madden, Nadia and Meldrum, James and Sattler, Sandra and Spanger-Siegfried, Erika and Yates, David}, title = {{Water-Smart Power}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2013}, month = jul, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/Water-Smart-Power-Executive-Summary.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }