NRG implemented projects in 2014 that increased water reused or recycled by 21 million gallons, according to the energy company’s 2014 sustainability report.
NRG has also reduced its water usage by 133 million gallons over the past three years through water-savings programs at each facility including:
At NRG’s El Segundo plant in California, for example, the plant’s units 1 and 2 used to rely on ocean water for cooling purposes, but in 2013, NRG demolished the units and installed new generators with dry-air cooling technology, eliminating the need for ocean water.
The company’s plants last year produced 135 million TWh of electricity and withdrew about 13 billion cubic meters of water. NRG says almost all — more than 98 percent — of the water is discharged into the same body of water from which it is drawn.
NRG has set a goal to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions 50 percent by 2030 and 90 percent by 2050 below a 2014 baseline.