Switching From Coal Power Saves Water, UT Report Says
The report by a UT professor's research group suggests one long-term water conservation strategy. Photo courtesy flickr.com/cogdog
Texas could save billions of gallons of water if it switched from coal-fired power plants to generators fueled by natural gas, according to a new report by the Webber Energy Group, which is led by University of Texas professor Michael Webber.
He says the finding holds true even after accounting for water used in the fracking process to extract natural gas.
“It’s not realistic to switch our power plants today to something else, but as a state we are considering what our power mix will be over the next few decades, because many of the things we built three or four decades ago are up for retirement or a retrofit to be maintained for a longer lifetime,” Webber said. “And as we contemplate those decisions, it’s worth keeping the water impact in mind.”
The study says if all of Texas’ coal-fired power plants had been fueled by gas in 2007, it would have saved enough water to supply a million households for a year.
Below is a video version of the report.
