ETA 2021 Strategic Plan - Flipbook - Page 34
Development of energy-efficient technologies
targets new improved sensor networks,
metering technologies, and computer simulation
models that can enable better management of
water distribution networks and identify leaks
and system inefficiencies. Also, energy costs can
be reduced through smart demand-response
schemes, deployment of renewable energy
sources, and knowledge of how water policy
affects water-use efficiency. Such improvements
enhance preventative and rapid response to
water-infrastructure problems.
Systems Modeling and Data Analytics
Using “geotyping” methods pioneered by ETA, a
spatially explicit database of carefully selected
and tested parameters that drive water–energy
nexus needs and performance throughout
the United States would allow policymakers to
identify and target interventions to strengthen
water and energy systems. We intend to
categorize regions based on capability to
meet future water and energy demands given
climate change. Parameters of interest include
current and projected seasonal hydrologic
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water availability in each watershed, aquifer
sustainable yield and/or overdraft conditions,
environmental flow requirements, energy
and other demands for water, water quality
and temperature, land use, demographic and
industrial shifts, trends in electricity generation
mix, water and energy infrastructure condition,
and more. Data analytics can help elucidate
these relationships and address issues before
they become problems. ETA has the expertise to
design complex models to identify critical needs
and guide solutions in a sustainable, resilient
manner.
ETA’s strengths in network analysis, machine
learning and optimization, life-cycle assessment
(LCA), and techno-economic analysis (TEA) will
be used jointly to develop a predictive model
for pipe failures. A tool that includes statistically
based pipe network profiles could overcome
this challenge and enable users to prioritize
their maintenance investments to provide the
greatest benefit to the communities they serve.
It also could reduce energy demands — directly
due to avoiding treatment of leaked water and
indirectly from avoided chemical use.
Leveraging the Water–Energy Nexus to
Support Our Energy Future
Technological hurdles currently limit the ability
of the water and energy sectors to operate
interactively. Control systems and algorithms
that can process electric grid signals and
water requirements in real time could have
cross-sector potential to modulate pumping
loads to benefit the electric grid. To increase
participation of water loads in demand response
programs, it is necessary to develop algorithms
and associated control systems and sensors,
and to identify applications. Modulating energy
intensive water treatment in accordance with
electric grid needs would help mitigate energyrelated costs associated with widespread
desalination adoption. Improved understanding
of the energy loss modes associated with partial
load operations of desalination facilities, design
of treatment plants that can store water, and
identifying where and how improvements are
needed in current desalination operations would
facilitate the adoption of alternate water sources
and provide grid support.
Water’s potential to serve as a thermal storage
medium also can play a role in our energy
transition, particularly when matched with the
right application. Its thermal heat capacity (both
sensible and latent) is among the highest of
natural materials, but its adoption is limited by
its physical requirements. Understanding our
water-based thermal loads, where we waste
this thermal energy, and how we can utilize
it elsewhere both spatially and temporally,
would lower thermal energy demands and help
decarbonize our end-use sectors.
Within the water/wastewater sector itself,
decarbonization will be challenged, as the
energy intensity of the sector stands to increase.
Utilization of alternate water supplies and
increasing wastewater treatment requirements
stand to increase the energy demands of these
processes. We can better understand minimum
energy requirements and the energy-efficiency
opportunity of new treatment technologies
and systems through improved theoretical
understanding of the energy requirements
for water and wastewater treatment and the
development of physics and chemistry-based
energy models for contaminant removal.
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