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| 1 |
ID:
125412
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2013.
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| Summary/Abstract |
Water is required for energy supply, and energy is required for water supply, creating problems as demand for both resources grows. We analyze this "water-energy nexus" as it affects long-run electricity planning in the western United States. We develop four scenarios assuming: no new constraints; limits on carbon emissions; limits on water use; and combined carbon and water limits.
We evaluate these scenarios through 2100 under a range of carbon and water prices. The carbon-reducing scenarios become cost-effective at carbon prices of about $50-$70 per ton of CO2, moderately high but plausible within the century. In contrast, the water-conserving scenarios are not cost-effective until water prices reach thousands of dollars per acre-foot, well beyond foreseeable levels. This is due in part to the modest available water savings: our most and least water-intensive scenarios differ by less than 1% of the region's water consumption.
Under our assumptions, Western electricity generation could be reshaped by the cost of carbon emissions, but not by the cost of water, over the course of this century. Both climate change and water scarcity are of critical importance, but only in the former is electricity generation central to the problem and its solutions.
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| 2 |
ID:
109701
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| Publication |
2011.
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| Summary/Abstract |
Energy and water are interlinked. The development, use, and waste generated by demand for both resources drive global change. Managing them in tandem offers potential for global-change adaptation but presents institutional challenges. This paper advances understanding of the water-energy nexus by demonstrating how these resources are coupled at multiple scales, and by uncovering institutional opportunities and impediments to joint decision-making. Three water-energy nexus cases in the United States are examined: (1) water and energy development in the water-scarce Southwest; (2) conflicts between coal development, environmental quality, and social impacts in the East; and (3) tensions between environmental quality and economic development of shale natural gas in the Northeast and Central U.S. These cases are related to Eastern, Central, and Western regional stakeholder priorities collected in a national effort to assess energy-water scenarios. We find that localized challenges are diminished when considered from broader perspectives, while regionally important challenges are not prioritized locally. The transportability of electricity, and to some extent raw coal and gas, makes energy more suitable than water to regionalized global-change adaptation, because many of the impacts to water availability and quality remain localized. We conclude by highlighting the need for improved coordination between water and energy policy.
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| 3 |
ID:
107626
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| Publication |
2011.
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| Summary/Abstract |
Extracting, delivering, and disposing water requires energy, and similarly, many processes for extracting and refining various fuel sources and producing electricity use water. This so-called 'water-energy nexus', is important to understand due to increasing energy demands and decreasing freshwater supplies in many areas. This paper performs a country-level quantitative assessment of this nexus in the MENA region. The results show a highly skewed coupling with a relatively weak dependence of energy systems on fresh water, but a strong dependence of water abstraction and production systems on energy. In case of Saudi Arabia it is estimated that up to 9% of the total annual electrical energy consumption may be attributed to ground water pumping and desalination. Other countries in the Arabian Gulf may be consuming 5-12% or more of total electricity consumption for desalination. The results suggest that policy makers should explicitly consider energy implications in water intensive food imports and future restructuring of water demand. This will help in making more integrated decisions on water and energy infrastructure systems. An integrated assessment may in some cases favor water reuse and changes in the agricultural sector as opposed to the expansion of energy intensive and financially expensive desalination systems.
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