Energy and water are linked in many ways. Most energy production requires huge amounts of fresh water, while the consumption of water for domestic and agricultural demands uses large amounts of energy. Future water availability, whether from long distance transport or desalination, will require even greater amounts of energy.
Water scarcity, especially in the U.S. west of the Mississippi River, as well as in the Southeast, has become a growing source of concern and tension. Consequently, water availability is becoming an important consideration for energy projects in certain regions. The potential for the demand for water to outstrip available supply in these regions is already beginning to have a material impact on energy economics.
Despite water being of vital importance for future energy choices, water is rarely addressed in energy policy discussions.
Should water be part of the energy policy debate, and if so what are the right tools to address the water-energy challenges? Should water be a regionally tradable commodity with a price? In the absence of water policy can the markets solve these water-energy challenges naturally without expensive disruptions?
Great topic! Water must be part of any long-term energy policy debate given that it is inextricably linked to energy generation (even many forms of clean energy) and basic human/ ecosystem… Read more »
In my last post on the energy-water nexus, I surveyed some recent literature in search of hard hard data on exactly how much water it takes to produce various forms… Read more »
Yes, the complex connections between water and energy are too often overlooked. Of concern are not just the gross quantities of both resources that are involved, but significant vulnerability and… Read more »
Lewis, Thanks for the link to the paper by Fernedez et. al. I read it, but confess that I don’t really get — or maybe just don’t buy into the… Read more »
Roger, the analysis by Fernandez et al is admittedly a bit complicated. The important point in that paper, for the purposes of that symposium, was that expanding the grid to… Read more »
Thanks, Lewis, for the clarification. Now it makes sense, and I agree with the points you’ve summarized. Perhaps the “water – energy nexus” should instead be called the “water –… Read more »
Chris raises a hugely important point in that there really is a critical shortage in our understanding about water, energy, and the associated vulnerabilities. The challenge this creates is that… Read more »
One of the absurdities of our current laws and policies is that we have set up a system that enforces private water laws to provide water for lawns and swimming… Read more »
Great points here. I think that the issues you raise regarding plant shut downs (developers inability to finance new thermal generation because investors lack confidence in long term water availability… Read more »
After several years of focusing on the water-energy nexus, both on Capitol Hill and in private practice, I believe that advanced technologies are the key. There are major technology opportunities… Read more »
Can you provide a some background on the work that the Advanced Water Technology Deployment Council is doing, and are there efforts as part of that group’s work to engage… Read more »
One of the reasons for the confusion about water use associated with power generation is that sources most often do not distinguish between volume passed in a flow-through cooling system… Read more »
Air cooling and desalination to reduce the water vulnerabilities in our electricity portfolio seems like an extremely energy (and capital) intensive solution – I may have this wrong – but… Read more »
Responding to the question above, the Advanced Water Technology Deployment Council is forming as a result of a series of conferences Sullivan & Worcester conducted over the last year, which… Read more »
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Here is what I see as the crux of energy policy integrated with water policy. You have two issues: usage and effluent. Several of the other comments have addressed the… Read more »
The energy-water nexus discussion is gaining traction and rightfully so! Elias – thanks for the article and a chance for some dialogue to happen. I’m no expert on policy mechanisms,… Read more »
I was recently surprised to read that fully 20% of California’s electricity consumption is used to move and process water. I was in San Diego last week and found that San Diego’s… Read more »
As most of you probably know, the US Supreme Court just issued a unanimous decision in the TX v. OK case over the Red River. While that dispute was focused… Read more »
Thanks for bringing up this important topic! Water is a critical input to energy production and will increasingly become a constraint to current practices as water scarcity impacts increase in… Read more »
We have long argued that water and energy are closely linked resources. One particular issue of current importance is this relationship in the context of “fracking”. An effective policy in… Read more »
The topic of fracking is a very important one to be considered as natural gas blossoms here in the US and potentially abroad. While it is somewhat of a tangent… Read more »
The integrated energy-water planning problem for the U.S. is a very complex issue that warrants a comprehensive mathematical modeling approach to properly understand and address it. In the 1970’s and… Read more »
My website http://www.padrak.com/vesperman includes my compilation of “130 Electrical Energy Innovations”. It has this story about Reno inventor Robert Lantz’s water and power system: Robert Lantz invented his water purification… Read more »
The most helpful policy measure for sustainable water and power, in my opinion, would be an act that would facilitate projects having solid, long-term benefits for the nation, but that… Read more »
Many good comments have already been made about technical and some policy options – but what I’d particularly like to focus on is a broader framework regarding how we see… Read more »
Understanding the intersection of water demands and energy supply is a very important subject and fundamental to forming meaningful energy and water policies. One aspect of this discussion is understanding… Read more »
How much water is being blown into the atmosphere that could be recovered and utilized? A LOT The technology of Condensing Flue Gas Heat Recovery is designed to (1) Recover… Read more »
The topic being discussed here is key to the survival of humanity. I’ve spent about 20 thousand hours examining this from every perspective I can imagine. The facts are in,… Read more »