Search the Library

Advancing Energy-Water Resilience in California: A Framework for Integrated Water and Power Management Opportunities

This white paper identifies opportunities to advance energy-water resilience in California, using the Central Valley Project (CVP) and State Water Project (SWP) system. It addresses the critical intersection of both water for energy and energy for water management, emphasizing how...

Mork, E.

Co-Development Opportunities Between Hydropower and Municipal Water and Wastewater Infrastructures

This white paper outlines opportunities to modernize U.S. water-energy infrastructure through co-development of hydropower with municipal water and wastewater systems. It highlights the untapped potential of integrating hydropower generation into new and existing water supply proj...

Chu, A., and DeNeale, S.

Standardized Siting and Risk Analysis Decision Support Mechanisms for Water-Intensive Industries

This paper focuses on water for cooling industrial energy generation loads and energy and water for cooling large process loads. A challenge is that siting any large facility with substantial water demands without understanding baseline conditions and assessing potential multi-sec...

Fuchs, H., Karki, U., Stokes-Draut, J., Rao, P., Varadharajan, C., Hodson, A., Ajami, N., and Shehabi, A.

Thermoelectric and Hydropower Drought Monitor and Outlook: Tools for more robust resource adequacy planning and management

The primary focus is on issues related to water for energy; specifically, how drought-impacted water supply limits the generation potential of hydropower and thermoelectric assets. Existing Challenge: Twenty-two droughts, each causing a billion dollars or more in damages have im...

Voisin, N., Tidwell, V., and Gerlich, J.

Agentic Optimization for Resilience in Hydropower Reservoir Systems

The growing electricity demand in the U.S. requires a resilient energy strategy. Hydropower is a major component of that strategy but is subject to environmental and human stressors that impact its dependability. AI-driven reinforcement learning, called "Agentic" learning, presen...

Schwenk, J., Garcia-Cardona, C., Bennett, K., Singh, S., and Brelsford, C.

Hardening Forested Watersheds to Wildfire to Enhance Downstream Water Quality for Critical Energy Infrastructure

This white paper focuses on water-for-energy stability, emphasizing the risks to energy infrastructure from water quality impacts due to severely burned forested watersheds. The primary challenge is that energy production in the U.S. is vulnerable to surface water quality, with hi...

Crockett, J., and Krofcheck, D.

Framework for Enabling Energy Reliability for Wastewater Utilities

This white paper addresses Energy for Water, focusing on enabling energy reliability at wastewater (WW) utilities with an emphasis on grid-interactive operations. Although multiple options exist for wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), implementing energy reliable strategies lack ...

Sharma, N., and Lemar, P.

Synergistic Pathways for Water Security in Emerging Sectors: Data Centers and Modern Nuclear Facilities

Stand-alone data centers, nuclear-powered data centers, and novel nuclear facilities such as fusion plant and small modular reactors are water intensive sectors poised to rapidly expand, presenting a significant challenge to the water-for-energy nexus. The potential for large-scal...

Catalano, A., Duan, Z., Quimby, C., Wang, T., Chini, C., Premathilake, L., and Pope, J.

Hybrid Bioenergy and Hydropower Systems: Leveraging Heterogeneous Biomass and Wastes from Watersheds

Sandia National Laboratories and Idaho National Laboratory (INL) explore the water-for-energy nexus in this white paper, focusing on the impact of heterogeneous watershed waste materials on hydropower facilities. They identify key challenges--such as pile burning, wildfires, and d...

Quiroz-Arita, C., and Paudel, R.

Optimizing Hydropower Operations through Basin-Scale Coordination for Energy-Water Resilience

This white paper aligns with the Water for Energy focal area and advances energy-water resilience through basin-scale coordination of hydropower operations. It outlines a transition from top-down management approaches to bottom-up, stakeholder-driven approach to improve hydropower...

Davis, L., Corsair, H., Ossa, D., and Nachman, M.