Reducing Our Water Usage

Though the water footprint for generating electricity can vary tremendously depending on fuel type, generating efficiency, cooling technology, climate, geography, the body of water used for cooling and the physical layout of the power plant site, NextEra Energy's water withdrawal rate has steadily improved since we began tracking it in 2007. In 2011, our water withdrawal rate was 7,900 gallons per MWh of electricity produced, which is nearly 45 percent lower than our rate of 14,400 gallons per MWh in 2007. This improvement is due to greater efficiency and proper maintenance of equipment at our power generation sites that require water, as well as our increase in generation from renewables. Nearly 25 million MWh, or 14 percent of the more than 172 million MWh of electricity generated by NextEra Energy in 2011, came from wind or solar photovoltaic energy sources, neither of which require water withdrawals to operate.

Since water conservation is intrinsic to our business, we have established a Water Strategy Team to develop corporate-wide water management policies, strategies and plans that build on site-specific efforts and reflect our company's environmental commitment. The team is currently developing and implementing water use and management targets as well as risk assessment metrics that will help our facilities use water in a more sustainable way.

Addressing and Mitigating Water Supply Risks

In planning for new electric power generation facilities, one of our first steps is to conduct site-specific water analyses to select the appropriate generation and cooling technologies for the location. Next, we try to identify the lowest-quality water sources that meet our needs. These are important aspects of minimizing the water-related impact of our operations.  

For existing electric generating sites, we employ water management and governance practices and goals that exemplify NextEra Energy's corporate culture of continuous improvement. Existing facilities are challenged to be innovative and to fine-tune their operations.

At our Bellingham power plant in Massachusetts and Sayreville plant in New Jersey, we use air-cooled condensers to minimize water demands. This technology is also proposed for our Genesis solar thermal power plant under development in California.

In addition, our Forney Energy Center in Texas and West County Energy Center in Florida use reclaimed water in the power generation process. Doing so offsets the demand for higher-quality water while providing a secondary beneficial reuse of municipal wastewater.