Old Rocks
Diamond Member
The cost of natural gas turbines has increased 300% in just 3 years. In the meantime, the cost of solar and wind have continued to decrease, and now battery storage costs are going to plummet even more as the sodium batteries are online. Neither wind turbines nor solar requires constant water as does a gas turbine plant. That is in addition to the water required for the data center itself. The data centers consumption of gas will also raise the price of gas for those at present using gas in their homes.
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Typical water use rates
While the above figures are for electricity generation cooling, natural gas extraction also requires water. Drilling can produce 200+ billion gallons of “produced water” annually in the U.S., which is often reinjected or disposed of, not consumed in generation www.ucs.org.
Bottom line
For a typical natural gas utility generator producing electricity, cooling water use is in the low hundreds of gallons per MWh, with combined‑cycle plants using ~150–283 gal/MWh withdrawn and ~20–100 gal/MWh consumed, compared to thousands of gallons for coal or nuclear plants. This makes natural gas a more water‑efficient option, especially in water‑scarce regions.
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Water Use of a Natural Gas Utility Generator
Natural gas utility generators — especially combined-cycle natural gas plants — use far less water than coal or nuclear plants for cooling, making them one of the more water‑efficient electricity generation technologies.Typical water use rates
- Average withdrawal: about 2,803 gallons per megawatt‑hour (gal/MWh) for natural gas plants www.energyindepth.org.
- Coal‑fired plants use roughly 19,185 gal/MWh, meaning natural gas plants use about 584% less water for cooling www.energyindepth.org.
- Breakdown by plant type www.ucs.org:
- Natural gas (steam turbine): 7,500–20,000 gal/MWh withdrawn, 95–100 gal/MWh consumed.
- Natural gas (combined cycle): 150–283 gal/MWh withdrawn, 20–100 gal/MWh consumed.
- Natural gas (combustion turbine): 0 gal/MWh withdrawn or consumed (no cooling needed).
- Combined‑cycle plants use waste heat from the gas turbine to produce steam for a second turbine, but they still rely on recirculating cooling systems (most common) or dry cooling (less common).
- Dry cooling systems eliminate the need for large water withdrawals, with consumption as low as 0–4 gal/MWh www.ucs.org.
- Once‑through cooling (drawing water from a source and discharging it warmer) is rare in natural gas plants, as it is more common in coal and nuclear facilities.
While the above figures are for electricity generation cooling, natural gas extraction also requires water. Drilling can produce 200+ billion gallons of “produced water” annually in the U.S., which is often reinjected or disposed of, not consumed in generation www.ucs.org.
Bottom line
For a typical natural gas utility generator producing electricity, cooling water use is in the low hundreds of gallons per MWh, with combined‑cycle plants using ~150–283 gal/MWh withdrawn and ~20–100 gal/MWh consumed, compared to thousands of gallons for coal or nuclear plants. This makes natural gas a more water‑efficient option, especially in water‑scarce regions.
