Peter Holmes Kobos
Sandia National Laboratories
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Featured researches published by Peter Holmes Kobos.
Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management | 2012
Vincent Carroll Tidwell; Peter Holmes Kobos; Len Malczynski; Geoff Klise; Cesar Castillo
AbstractIn 2005, thermoelectric power accounted for 41% of all freshwater withdrawals and roughly 3% of all consumptive use in the United States. With the demand for electricity projected to increase by 24% by 2035 concerns have been raised as to the availability of water for this growing industry; particularly, as the siting of several new thermoelectric facilities have been challenged on the basis of water supply. To address this concern we estimate the potential impact of water availability on future expansion of the thermoelectric power industry. Specifically, both the extent and location of thermoelectric developments at risk due to limited fresh water supply is estimated for a variety of alternative energy futures that differ according to the assumed mix of fuels utilized in new plant construction. According to the analyzed scenarios water consumption for thermoelectric power generation is projected to increase by 36–43% between 1995 and 2035, with much of this development expected to occur in basin...
Environmental Science & Technology | 2013
Vincent Carroll Tidwell; Leonard A. Malczynski; Peter Holmes Kobos; Geoffrey Taylor Klise; Erik Shuster
Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) has important implications relative to future thermoelectric water use. A bounding analysis is performed using past greenhouse gas emission policy proposals and assumes either all effected capacity retires (lower water use bound) or is retrofitted (upper bound). The analysis is performed in the context of recent trends in electric power generation expansion, namely high penetration of natural gas and renewables along with constrained cooling system options. Results indicate thermoelectric freshwater withdrawals nationwide could increase by roughly 1% or decrease by up to 60% relative to 2009 levels, while consumption could increase as much as 21% or decrease as much as 28%. To identify where changes in freshwater use might be problematic at a regional level, electric power production has been mapped onto watersheds with limited water availability (where consumption exceeds 70% of gauged streamflow). Results suggest that between 0.44 and 0.96 Mm(3)/d of new thermoelectric freshwater consumption could occur in watersheds with limited water availability, while power plant retirements in these watersheds could yield 0.90 to 1.0 Mm(3)/d of water savings.
Environmental Science & Technology | 2014
Jason E. Heath; Sean Andrew McKenna; Thomas A. Dewers; Jesse D. Roach; Peter Holmes Kobos
CO2 storage efficiency is a metric that expresses the portion of the pore space of a subsurface geologic formation that is available to store CO2. Estimates of storage efficiency for large-scale geologic CO2 storage depend on a variety of factors including geologic properties and operational design. These factors govern estimates on CO2 storage resources, the longevity of storage sites, and potential pressure buildup in storage reservoirs. This study employs numerical modeling to quantify CO2 injection well numbers, well spacing, and storage efficiency as a function of geologic formation properties, open-versus-closed boundary conditions, and injection with or without brine extraction. The set of modeling runs is important as it allows the comparison of controlling factors on CO2 storage efficiency. Brine extraction in closed domains can result in storage efficiencies that are similar to those of injection in open-boundary domains. Geomechanical constraints on downhole pressure at both injection and extraction wells lower CO2 storage efficiency as compared to the idealized scenario in which the same volumes of CO2 and brine are injected and extracted, respectively. Geomechanical constraints should be taken into account to avoid potential damage to the storage site.
Archive | 2011
Peter Holmes Kobos; Anna C. Snider Lord; David James Borns; Geoffrey Taylor Klise
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has an interest in large scale hydrogen geostorage, which could offer substantial buffer capacity to meet possible disruptions in supply or changing seasonal demands. The geostorage site options being considered are salt caverns, depleted oil/gas reservoirs, aquifers and hard rock caverns. The DOE has an interest in assessing the geological, geomechanical and economic viability for these types of geologic hydrogen storage options. This study has developed an economic analysis methodology and subsequent spreadsheet analysis to address costs entailed in developing and operating an underground geologic storage facility. This year the tool was updated specifically to (1) incorporate more site-specific model input assumptions for the wells and storage site modules, (2) develop a version that matches the general format of the HDSAM model developed and maintained by Argonne National Laboratory, and (3) incorporate specific demand scenarios illustrating the models capability. Four general types of underground storage were analyzed: salt caverns, depleted oil/gas reservoirs, aquifers, and hard rock caverns/other custom sites. Due to the substantial lessons learned from the geological storage of natural gas already employed, these options present a potentially sizable storage option. Understanding and including these various geologic storage types in the analysis physical and economic framework will help identify what geologic option would be best suited for the storage of hydrogen. It is important to note, however, that existing natural gas options may not translate to a hydrogen system where substantial engineering obstacles may be encountered. There are only three locations worldwide that currently store hydrogen underground and they are all in salt caverns. Two locations are in the U.S. (Texas), and are managed by ConocoPhillips and Praxair (Leighty, 2007). The third is in Teeside, U.K., managed by Sabic Petrochemicals (Crotogino et al., 2008; Panfilov et al., 2006). These existing H{sub 2} facilities are quite small by natural gas storage standards. The second stage of the analysis involved providing ANL with estimated geostorage costs of hydrogen within salt caverns for various market penetrations for four representative cities (Houston, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles). Using these demand levels, the scale and cost of hydrogen storage necessary to meet 10%, 25% and 100% of vehicle summer demands was calculated.
Archive | 2009
Vincent Carroll Tidwell; Peter Holmes Kobos; Leonard A. Malczynski; William Hart; Geoffrey Taylor Klise
Currently, electrical power generation uses about 140 billion gallons of water per day accounting for over 39% of all freshwater withdrawals thus competing with irrigated agriculture as the leading user of water. Coupled to this water use is the required pumping, conveyance, treatment, storage and distribution of the water which requires on average 3% of all electric power generated. While water and energy use are tightly coupled, planning and management of these fundamental resources are rarely treated in an integrated fashion. Toward this need, a decision support framework has been developed that targets the shared needs of energy and water producers, resource managers, regulators, and decision makers at the federal, state and local levels. The framework integrates analysis and optimization capabilities to identify trade-offs, and “best” alternatives among a broad list of energy/water options and objectives. The decision support framework is formulated in a modular architecture, facilitating tailored analyses over different geographical regions and scales (e.g., national, state, county, watershed, NERC region). An interactive interface allows direct control of the model and access to real-time results displayed as charts, graphs and maps. Ultimately, this open and interactive modeling framework provides a tool for evaluating competing policy and technical options relevant to the energywater nexus.
Archive | 2010
Peter Holmes Kobos; Anna C. Snider Lord; David James Borns
The U.S. Department of Energy has an interest in large scale hydrogen geostorage, which would offer substantial buffer capacity to meet possible disruptions in supply. Geostorage options being considered are salt caverns, depleted oil/gas reservoirs, aquifers and potentially hard rock cavrns. DOE has an interest in assessing the geological, geomechanical and economic viability for these types of hydrogen storage options. This study has developed an ecocomic analysis methodology to address costs entailed in developing and operating an underground geologic storage facility. This year the tool was updated specifically to (1) a version that is fully arrayed such that all four types of geologic storage options can be assessed at the same time, (2) incorporate specific scenarios illustrating the models capability, and (3) incorporate more accurate model input assumptions for the wells and storage site modules. Drawing from the knowledge gained in the underground large scale geostorage options for natural gas and petroleum in the U.S. and from the potential to store relatively large volumes of CO{sub 2} in geological formations, the hydrogen storage assessment modeling will continue to build on these strengths while maintaining modeling transparency such that other modeling efforts may draw from this project.
1st Water Quality, Drought, Human Health and Engineering Conference | 2006
Amy Cha-Tien Sun; Vincent Carroll Tidwell; R. Thomas; Jim Brainard; Peter Holmes Kobos; Leonard A. Malczynski; G. Klise
Water resource management for most Southwestern states requires collaborative solutions that cross regional, state, and federal judicial boundaries. As most of the region experiences drought-like conditions as well as population growth, there is a growing concern about sustainability of the water resource to meet industrial, agricultural, and residential demands. Technically, seeking a consensus path requires modeling of the hydrologic cycle within a prescribed region. Credible models must capture key interdependencies of various water resources, use historical data for calibration, and provide temporal/spatial resolutions that are aligned with the interests of the decision makers.
Archive | 2004
Paul E. Rexroth; Leonard A. Malczynski; Gerald A. Hendrickson; Peter Holmes Kobos; Laura A. McNamara
This study investigates the factors that lead countries into conflict. Specifically, political, social and economic factors may offer insight as to how prone a country (or set of countries) may be for inter-country or intra-country conflict. Largely methodological in scope, this study examines the literature for quantitative models that address or attempt to model conflict both in the past, and for future insight. The analysis concentrates specifically on the system dynamics paradigm, not the political science mainstream approaches of econometrics and game theory. The application of this paradigm builds upon the most sophisticated attempt at modeling conflict as a result of system level interactions. This study presents the modeling efforts built on limited data and working literature paradigms, and recommendations for future attempts at modeling conflict.
Energy Policy | 2006
Peter Holmes Kobos; Jon D. Erickson; Thomas E. Drennen
Contemporary Economic Policy | 2003
Peter Holmes Kobos; Jon D. Erickson; Thomas E. Drennen