Energy & Environment Track

MITCNC Event
Repurpose Diablo Canyon for Economical Water & Energy?
Mar 16 - Virtual Event

Virtual Fireside Chat Open to the Public

Can California Repurpose Diablo Canyon
to provide both Giga-scale Drinking Water and Clean Energy?

 

California is in the midst of the second multiyear drought in 8 years, with drinking water conservation calls ranging from 10% to 32% across the state.  California’s water supply depends on winter precipitation that is the most variable in the nation.  Further, the State’s continuing investment in water supply, storage and conveyance comes at significant cost to the ecosystem, with frequent tradeoffs and delays to address environmental concerns.

Thus, there is great interest in wholly new water sources such as recycled water and desalination; however, these are typically expensive as well as capital & energy intensive.   What if California could build a billion gallon per day desalination plant?

MIT faculty members John Lienhard, Jacopo Buongiorno, and John Parsons, working with the Stanford Precourt Energy Institute, have developed an innovative proposal to generate significant quantities of desalinated water as well as zero carbon electricity and green transportation fuel.  By repurposing the existing Diablo Canyon Nuclear facility, they found that the nuclear plant plus a new giga-scale desalination plant could simultaneously help to stabilize the State’s electric grid with carbon-free electricity and provide desalinated water to supplement the State’s chronic water shortages at a scale potentially comparable to the largest reservoir projects.

The proposal consists of three parts:

  • Build a large scale modular desalinated water facility, using existing RO technology, adjacent to Diablo Canyon that shares its large-scale water facilities and capitalizes on low-cost electricity from the nuclear plant,
  • Continue to use Diablo Canyon to provide dispatchable carbon-free power to the grid to complement the State’s large renewable electric supply, while simultaneously addressing environmental concerns regarding seawater intake and heat discharge,
  • Build a hydrogen fuel manufacturing facility adjacent to Diablo Canyon to generate green hydrogen fuel to further decarbonize the transportation industry in the State.

The professors will discuss the technical and economic feasibility of this design, how it can reduce carbon emissions vs. the current trajectory for how we balance renewable energy, and how it can provide new, economical drought-proof water to the State on a scale not considered possible heretofore.

 

MITCNC Members: 

There may be an issue with Eventbrite that may not be populating the promo code to unlock the free ticket for members. Please email clubadmin@mitcnc.org to verify membership and receive a direct link to registration if you have trouble. We apologize for the inconvenience.

 

MIT Alums:

Please make sure you are a current member of your local club before registering. If you are unsure please ask your club representative or if you would like to join MIT Club of Northern California, click here.

New Non MITCNC Members: If you just renewed your membership, the system requires 24-48 hours to update and recognize new members. For events within a day of renewal, please email clubadmin@mitcnc.org to verify membership and receive a direct link to registration.

Event Closed

Date and Time

Wednesday, March 16, 2022
5:00 PM - 6:30 PM PT

Add to Calendar

Location

Virtual Event

Primary Contact

Serena Chung

clubadmin@mitcnc.org

Speakers

Upcoming Events

Find information and tickets of upcoming events at MIT Club of Northern California, like conferences, talks, cycling trips and much much more

Food trucks + meet the MIT Alumni Association President and Board Members
MITCNC Event SAN FRANCISCO

Food trucks + meet the MIT Alumni Association President and Board Members

Sat, Jun 10 11:45 am PT
Spark Social SF

601 Mission Bay Boulevard North, San Francisco, CA, 94158

Info and Registration
Celebrate LGBT Pride Month with MIT Alumnx Pride in San Francisco
Affiliate Event SAN FRANCISCO

Celebrate LGBT Pride Month with MIT Alumnx Pride in San Francisco

Sat, Jun 10 3:30 pm PT
Home of John Chisholm '75 (downtown San Francisco/South of Market) Address will be provided in your confirmation email.

Info and Registration
2023 MIT Startup Exchange Demo Day
Affiliate Event SOUTH BAY

2023 MIT Startup Exchange Demo Day

Thu, Jun 15 8:00 am PT
Samsung Semiconductor

3655 N First Street, San Jose, CA, 95134

Info and Registration
How to Inspire K-12 Students with Mathematics
MITCNC Event PENINSULA

How to Inspire K-12 Students with Mathematics

Sat, Jun 17 1:00 pm PT
Grant Park Community Center

1575 Holt Ave, Los Altos, CA, CA 94024

Info and Registration
Bike Ride: Mount Hamilton
MITCNC Event SOUTH BAY

Bike Ride: Mount Hamilton

Sat, Jun 24 9:00 am PT

280 Mt Hamilton Rd, San Jose, CA, 95140

Info and Registration
Summer Soiree in Carmel Valley
MITCNC Event CARMEL VALLEY

Summer Soiree in Carmel Valley

Sat, Jul 22 4:00 pm PT
Carmel Valley (exact address in confirmation email)

Info and Registration

Become a Member

Join the MIT Club of Nothern California today!

Member is open to all MIT graduates.

Join Now!