Texas Senate wary of drought

May limit electricity, growth

Matt Dietrichson, Jan 12, 12.

State senators expressed concerns Tuesday that a lack of water could harm Texas’ long-term growth, as they held a hearing about the impact of drought on power generation, according to The Texas Tribune:

Despite significant wet weather across the state recently, including more than six inches of rain in parts of Houston in the last few days, the drought remains a concern. And drought conditions and lower lake levels could affect power plants, which rely on significant amounts of water for their operations.

George Bomar, a meteorologist with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, testified that although recent rains have helped, the drought will continue.

It’s “very likely we’re not going to see the spring rains we need to break the drought,” he said. “We have little reason to expect major relief from drought until we are deep into 2012.”

Nearly 40 percent of water taken from rivers and lakes nationally gets used by power plants, according to Michael Webber, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Texas at Austin. Nuclear, coal and natural gas plants need significant amounts for cooling equipment. But most of that water goes back into the rivers after it is used for cooling — albeit at a slightly higher temperature, which can cause problems for fish. Webber told the committee that solar panels and wind plants need no water, and some types of gas plants need less water than others. Also, some cooling technologies can be less water-intensive than others, but they may cost more.

The drought is already having a “slight impact” on electricity generation, according to testimony from Trip Doggett, the chief executive of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the state’s electric grid. He anticipated that problems would remain slight through the summer, but if the drought continues into next year, “the consequences are likely to become more severe.”

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