 |
Utah Wind Working Group Meeting Date: 2/25/2009Location: Salt Lake City , UTPhone: (801) 537-3365 Department of Environmental Quality, 168 North 1950 West, Room 101. 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Addressing Utah's Future Water Demands by Investing in Renewable Energy
Stacy Tellinghuisen
Water is essential to sustain agriculture, municipalities, industrial operations, and many forms of electricity generation. In many regions of the country, freshwater use — from both surface and groundwater sources — is unsustainable. As cities and electricity needs grow, finite water resources will become more stressed; production of transportation fuels from alternative sources like oil shale may exacerbate these stresses.
Using the State of Utah as a case study, we assess future water demands under several different development scenarios. Under a "business as usual" trajectory, water demands for electricity generation and municipalities are likely to increase. In our alternate scenarios, we demonstrate that increased investment in wind and other renewable resources, energy efficiency, and municipal water use efficiency will all be essential in meeting Utah's future water needs. Finally, we present a series of policy recommendations for meeting Utah's future water needs. Perhaps most important among these is long range, integrated planning between the energy and water sectors.
Perspectives and Case Studies from Wind Power Development in Iowa, Colorado and Utah.
Sandra Reategui
Job generation and retention in rural America and in manufacturing regions of the country are of keen interest to state policy makers and to local communities. Quantifying the economic development impacts from wind power projects can provide important information for the enactment of sound state and federal policies. This presentation by Sandra Reategui, of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), illustrates the economic impact (including land-lease payments to farmers and ranchers, tax revenue, economic activities, and employment) achieved by the commercial development of wind power in Iowa, Colorado, and Utah. This analysis provides not only a summary of benefits to the state's population, but also provides a sense of the economic development opportunities associated with other wind project scenarios, including the U.S. Department of Energy's "20% Wind Energy by 2030" scenario. The results and analysis that will be presented are from NREL's Job and Economic Development Impact (JEDI) model.
Bio Information
Stacy Tellinghuisen works on both sides of the energy/water nexus at Western Resource Advocates, assessing both the impacts of energy on water resources, and the energy demands of new and existing water supplies. Prior to working for WRA, Stacy researched the energy and carbon benefits of recycled water in Southern California, and worked on water resource issues for a small town in Utah. Stacy has a Master's degree in Environmental Science and Management from U.C. Santa Barbara, and a B.A. from Carleton College. Between college and graduate school, Stacy taught environmental education to school groups in parks throughout California and Utah.
Sandra Reategui is a researcher in the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) Strategic Energy Analysis Center. Her main areas of research include state-level economic impact from wind energy projects, JEDI modeling, and the economic value of water. She has a Master's degree in applied economics complemented by an earlier degree encompassing business and journalism. Prior to joining NREL, she worked as a graduate research associate at the Center for the Market Diffusion of Renewable Energy and Clean Technology at Utah State University.
|
