Energy Variability and Produced Water: Two Challenges, One Synergistic Management Approach Using Pumped Hydroelectric Energy Storage

A number of compounding issues currently encourage a different management strategy of produced water from oil, gas, and coal bed methane. Environmental and economic constraints make it desirable to deploy water and energy resources efficiently and effectively to meet the demands of our populace while maintaining and supporting environmental resources. The following paper will outline one strategy to put some of the onshore produced water to beneficial uses. In this approach, the produced water is first cleaned and then used to supply water for pumped hydroelectric energy storage (PHS) to deploy electric energy on demand, and finally release that water back to the watershed or appropriate application. The primary purpose of this work is to suggest that produced water and PHS may complement each other. Additionally, it is suggested that revenue from energy storage can help provide for the cost of treatment of produced water. Once treated produced water could be put to additional uses with the potential to also bring in revenue.