Drought sears South Central states; wind power saving water

A sampling from a drought report in AgriLife Today, a publication of Texas A&M University:

– "Livestock producers were culling herds because of shortages of forage and of hay."

– "Very large numbers of grasshoppers were reported."

– "Fish in Henderson County were dying from depleted water-oxygen levels."

– "Wildlife visited towns at night to feed on green grass in home lawns."

– "Some irrigation wells were pumping only air."

– "Some producers lost cattle after moving them when water tanks dried up. In the new pastures, cattle died of water intoxication from drinking too much, too fast."

– "Whitetail deer were also suffering from the drought. Does were having problems carrying fawns to term. Prematurely born fawns were found; most were not surviving."

With water supplies deeply stressed throughout a region that also possesses outstanding wind resources–Texas has enough wind power to generate more electricity than the entire U.S. currently uses–wind energy’s ability to provide energy without using water is a critical quality that policy makers would do well to keep in mind.

A research brief from wind turbines manufacturer Vestas details the comparative water requirements for various electricity generation technologies. To generate as much electricity as a single average American home uses each year, the following amounts of water would be needed:

Wind farm: 0
Solar power photovoltaic: 0
Natural gas combined cycle: 2,000 gallons
Natural gas combined cycle with carbon capture and storage: 3,800 gallons
Pulverized coal: 4,900 gallons
Nuclear: 6,700 gallons
Concentrated solar thermal power (trough): 8,700 gallons
Pulverized coal with carbon capture and storage: 9,300 gallons

Wind turbines already provides an "insurance policy" against fuel price spikes, because it uses no fuel–making it possible for wind farm developers to sign long-term contracts at guaranteed prices. The fact that it also uses no water is another type of insurance, helping to protect against water shortages during the type of calamitous, tragic weather we are currently seeing in the Southern Plains.

By Tom Gray, www.awea.org/blog/