Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Other important energy sources have included natural gas, oil, and nuclear power. Now
there is interest in wider use of solar and wind power. Government policies have been
adopted to favor solar and wind power—thus far with mixed results. In fairness, those
technologies still need to show their commercial viability outside of government subsidies.
Strong environmental regulations and federal government policies in the United States
are inluencing traditional fossil-fuel power plants. In the coming years, it is predicted
there will be large numbers of coal-ired plant closures. In 2012, the Energy Information
Administration predicted the closure of up to 175 coal-ired power plants between 2012
and 2016 because of environmental rules targeting mercury pollution and chemicals that
cause acid rain [8]. The predicted closures are based on reports from power plant owners
and operators, who said they expect 27 gigawatts (GW) of generating capacity from 175
coal-ired generators to shut down. It should be noted that outside of government pressure,
another reason for the closure of some facilities is their age.
The 27 GW would represent 8.5% of the electricity produced by coal generators. In 2011,
there were 1387 coal-ired plants in the United States, totaling nearly 318 GW of generat-
ing capability, which represents about half of the generating capacity in the United States.
13.5.2 International Business
While this section has primarily focused on the domestic power industry, the greatest
water business opportunities for power generation are elsewhere in the world. R. McIlvaine
[9] said that based on his research, the current top power markets are the United States,
China, India, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Nations showing the greatest
opportunities for future growth are China, India, Russia, Indonesia, Brazil, South Africa,
Pakistan, Turkey, Poland, and Malaysia.
13.5.3 “Green” Power
As noted in Table 13.2 [10], there will be some growth in generating technologies that do
not require treated water. In part, this will come because of pressure by government, and
regulatory agencies. Consequently, it will have a dampening effect on the development of
some conventional power plants.
TABLE 13.2
Projected US Power Capacity Additions
Total Additions
(MW 2008-2012)
Natural gas 48,100
Coal 23,347
Petroleum 1910
Nuclear 1270
Biomass 427
Geothermal 383
Wood and wood-derived fuels 288
Wind 14,617
Solar 2395
Source:
Based on
Electric Power Annual 2007
, Energy
Information Administration, Washington, DC,
Table 2.4, January 2009.
Energy Source
