Counting and accounting for costs is always a very weak link in policy decisions. Take electrical energy, for example. Solar, coal, wind, petroleum, biofuels, wave, oil shale, geothermal, natural gas . . . Unless you can take all the costs of production for each source of power into account, you can't make wise decisions.
Take biofuels.
They seem to be a good idea on first consideration. You can just keep planting new crops, harvesting them, converting them into energy stocks. It seems to fit with environmentalist values. Until you consider the impact on food for people and how to produce it when land and other resources are taken up with producing energy stocks.
And then there is the cost of transporting the fuel source to where it will be used.
And then figuring out how to transport the power generated and to store it in some cases, wind and solar for example. Or distribute it and lower other uses during that time.
And then there are human costs from diseases linked to energy production and use. And laws now in existence that promote or impede the use of certain sources. In fact, the same day GAO issued the report discussed here, it also released a report on air quality: Clean Air Act: Preliminary Observations on the Effectiveness and Costs of Mercury Control Technologies at Coal-Fired Power Plants GAO-09-860T, July 9, 2009
The connections, the interconnections, the effects are so complex and interwoven. And so important to identify and understand.
A new GAO report examines water and energy. As GAO puts it:
Water and energy are inexorably linked — energy is needed to pump, treat, and transport water and large quantities of water are needed to support the development of energy. However, both water and energy may face serious constraints as demand for these vital resources continues to rise.
Two examples that demonstrate the link between water and energy are the cultivation and conversion of feedstocks, such as corn, switchgrass, and algae, into biofuels; and the production of electricity by thermoelectric power plants, which rely on large quantities of water for cooling during electricity generation.
GAO considers two issues in this preliminary report that is part of a larger effort. The studies are examing the water-energy nexus related to
(1) biofuels and water,
(2) thermoelectric power plants and water, and
(3) oil shale and water.
The study methodology involves a wide-ranging exploration of studies, interivews with knowledgeable people in the sciences and government, and data on use.
Here are some findings to date.
Our work to date indicates that while the water supply and water quality effects of producing corn-based ethanol are fairly well understood, less is known about the effects of the next generation of feedstocks and fuels. The cultivation of corn for ethanol production can require substantial quantities of water — from 7 to 321 gallons per gallon of ethanol produced — depending on where it is grown and how much irrigation water is used. 4 Furthermore, corn is a relatively resource-intensive crop, requiring higher rates of fertilizer and pesticide applications than many other crops; some experts believe that additional corn production for biofuels conversion will lead to an increase in fertilizer and sediment runoff and in the number of impaired streams and other water bodies.
Some researchers and conservation officials have told us that the impact of corn-based ethanol on water supply and water quality could be mitigated through research into developing additional drought-tolerant and more nutrient-efficient crop varieties thereby decreasing the amount of water needed for irrigation and the amount of fertilizer that needs to be applied.
Furthermore, experts also mentioned the need for additional data on current aquifer water supplies and research on the potential of biofuel cultivation to strain these water sources.
Far less is known, of course, on the use and impact of other sorts of biofuels, such as cellulosic biofuels and even less on algae.
Algae have the added advantage of being able to use lower-quality water for cultivation, according to experts. However, the impact on water supply and water quality will ultimately depend on which cultivation methods are determined to be the most viable. Therefore, research is needed on how best to cultivate this feedstock in order to
maximize its potential as a biofuel feedstock and limit its potential impacts on water resources.
The report continues:
Other areas we have identified that relate to water and algae cultivation in need of additional research include:
• Oil extraction. Additional research is needed on how to extract the oil from the algal cell in such a way as to preserve the water contained in the cell along with the oil, thereby allowing some of that water to be recycled back into the cultivation process.
• Contaminants. Information is needed on how to manage the contaminants that are found in the algal cultivation water and how any resulting wastewater should be handled.
The report also describes increasing efforts to lower the use of water in new and traditional energy sources, efforts that should lower overall costs.
I applaud GAO on embarking on this sophisticated examination, an effort to truly account for costs that is the only way to make wise decisions.
The report is Energy and Water: Preliminary Observations on the Links between Water and Biofuels and Electricity Production GAO-09-862T, July 9, 2009
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