Faculty of Science EES Seminar Series Talk by Sarah M. Jordaan

An activity framed within the University of Calgary’s Energy Research Strategy “Energy Innovations for Today and Tomorrow.” “Water energy nexus in the United States: current research and emerging questions” SUMMARY Current research and emerging issues for the water-energy nexus in the United States will be discussed. Water implications of transportation fuel alternatives will first be examined, followed by key questions related to the electric sector. The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is among the cornerstone policies created to increase U.S. energy independence by using biofuels. Although greenhouse gas emissions have played a role in shaping the RFS, water implications are less understood. We demonstrate a spatial, life cycle approach to estimate water consumption of transportation fuel scenarios, including a comparison to current water withdrawals and drought incidence by state. The water consumption and land footprint of six scenarios are compared to the RFS, including shale oil, coal-to-liquids, shale gas-to-liquids, corn ethanol, and cellulosic ethanol from switchgrass. The corn scenario is the most water and land intense option and is weighted toward drought-prone states. Fossil options and cellulosic ethanol require significantly less water and are weighted toward less drought-prone states. Coal-to-liquids is an exception, where water consumption is partially weighted toward drought-prone states. Results suggest that there may be considerable water and land impacts associated with meeting energy security goals through using only biofuels. Ultimately, water and land requirements may constrain energy security goals without careful planning, indicating that there is a need to better balance trade-offs. Our approach provides policymakers with a method to integrate federal policies with regional planning over various temporal and spatial scales. Life cycle assessments of electricity generation will then be discussed briefly, raising key data gaps and research needs highlighted by a coal to gas transition. Cost: Free and open to the public. Register at: http://ucalgaryeesspeakerseries.eventbrite.ca About Sarah M. Jordaan Sarah M. Jordaan is an Assistant Professor of Energy Policy and Politics at the University of Calgary. Previously, she worked for the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) managing a cross-cutting initiative examining economic, supply and regulatory implications of environmental impacts of shale gas development in the US, including water use, produced water management, life cycle greenhouse gas emissions, and regional air emissions. She was formerly a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group at the Kennedy School of Government and Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University. A portion of her research has been conducted with the Laboratory on International Law and Regulation at the University of California, San Diego. She earned her PhD in 2009 at the University of Calgary in Environmental Design at the Institute for Sustainable Energy Economy and Environment. Her Bachelor’s degree is in Physics with a minor in Computer Science from the Memorial University of Newfoundland. For more about the Energy and Environmental Systems (EES) Specialization visit: http://science.ucalgary.ca/iseee/student

Location:

Taylor Family Digital Library

Speaker:

Sarah M. Jordaan, Assistant Professor, Energy Politics and Policy, Department of Poltical Science

More information at http://www.ucalgary.ca/events/calendar/faculty-science-ees-seminar-series-talk-sarah-m-jordaan