Thermoelectric-power condenser duty estimates by month and cooling type for use to calculate water use by power plant for the 2008-2020 reanalysis period for the conterminous United States
Dates
Start Date
2008-01-01
End Date
2020-12-31
Publication Date
2023-10-31
Citation
Gorman Sanisaca, L.E., Galanter, A.E., Skinner, K.D., Harris, M.A., Diehl, T.H., Halper, A.S., Mohs, T.G., Roland, V.L., Stewart, J.S., and Niswonger, R., 2023, Thermoelectric-power condenser duty estimates by month and cooling type for use to calculate water use by power plant for the 2008-2020 reanalysis period for the conterminous United States: U.S. Geological Survey, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9XG876W.
Summary
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) developed models to estimate the amount of water that is withdrawn and consumed by thermoelectric power plants (Diehl and others, 2013; Diehl and Harris, 2014; Harris and Diehl, 2019). The thermoelectric water use models are based on linked heat-and-water budgets that are constrained by power plant generation and cooling system technologies, the amount of fuels consumed and electricity generated, and environmental variables. The heat-budget side of the models calculates the amount of waste heat (fuel heat that is not converted to electricity) that is removed from the steam used to drive the turbines that generate electricity and transferred to the cooling system in a thermoelectric power plant’s condenser, [...]
Summary
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) developed models to estimate the amount of water that is withdrawn and consumed by thermoelectric power plants (Diehl and others, 2013; Diehl and Harris, 2014; Harris and Diehl, 2019). The thermoelectric water use models are based on linked heat-and-water budgets that are constrained by power plant generation and cooling system technologies, the amount of fuels consumed and electricity generated, and environmental variables. The heat-budget side of the models calculates the amount of waste heat (fuel heat that is not converted to electricity) that is removed from the steam used to drive the turbines that generate electricity and transferred to the cooling system in a thermoelectric power plant’s condenser, which is defined as the condenser duty (Diehl and others, 2013). Condenser duty is an intermediate calculation and an input to the water-budget side of the thermoelectric water use models that estimates plant-specific water withdrawal and consumption. The models provide consistent methods for water-use estimation across U.S. thermoelectric plants and estimates independent of plant operator-reported data. This dataset presents a historical reanalysis of monthly condenser duty estimates from 2008 to 2020, and associated information for 1360 water-using, utility-scale thermoelectric power plants in the conterminous United States operational within the time period. These monthly condenser duty estimates were input to the water-budget side of the thermoelectric water-use models for the 2008-2020 historical reanalysis of water withdrawals and consumption by HUC12, month, and year for the conterminous United States (Galanter and others, 2023).
This water-use reanalysis supports the Water Availability and Use Science Program goals of determining the quantity and quality of water that is available for human and ecological uses, now and in the future and helps to identify where and when the Nation may have challenges meeting its demand for water because of insufficient water quantity or quality. National data, consistently estimated, that accounts for water removed (withdrawal) and consumed, respectively, from a groundwater or surface-water source provides needed information of how water is used for thermoelectric water use and can be used to evaluate the balance between supply and demand.
