'Thirst for power', the water-energy nexus

Dr B K Mukhopadhyay

(The author is a Professor of Management and Economics, formerly at IIBM (RBI) Guwahati. He can be contacted at m.bibhas@gmail.com)

Dr. Boidurjo Rick Mukhopadhyay

(The author, international award-winning development and management economist, formerly a Gold Medalist in Economics at Gauhati University)

The popular documentary, 'Thirst for Power', based on Dr. Michael Webber's book "Thirst for Power: Energy, Water, and Human Survival", explored how water and power have been intertwined for centuries. Today, more than a third of the world's population is water stressed. By 2025, an estimated 3.4 billion people will live in water-scarce countries. Projections show that by 2035, the global energy consumption will increase by 35 per cent, while water consumption by the energy sector will increase by 85%, naturally placing a greater strain on already scarce water resources. Daniel Loucks in his 'managing water for life' says that if we continue with our 'business as usual' approach, about 40 per cent of the projected global population of 9.4 billion is expected to be facing water stress or scarcity. This will have a significant impact on populations living in water-stressed areas, which are expected to increase from 1.6 billion in 2000 to 3.9 billion in 2050.

Billions of people today lack access to clean drinking water and sanitation and 80% of wastewater is discharged untreated. Energy is an essential part of the solution. The IEA analysis shows that achieving universal access to clean water and sanitation (SDG 6) would add less than 1% to global energy demand in the Sustainable Development Scenario by 2030 and highlights a range of potential synergies between SDG 7 and SDG 6. For example, in rural areas, almost two-thirds of those who lack access to electricity also lack access to clean drinking water. Over the next 25 years, the amount of energy used in the water sector will be more than double, mostly because of desalination projects. By 2040, these desalination projects will account for 20% of water-related electricity demand.

Reality (fact) check

The water-energy nexus is the relationship between how much water is used to generate and transmit energy, and how much energy it takes to collect, clean, move, store, and dispose of water. Some energy and water factsheet:

* We use 70% of our water sources for agriculture and irrigation, and only 10% on domestic uses.

* Total electricity consumption of the water and wastewater sectors will grow 33% in the next 20 years.

* 40% of the world's population is expected to live in water scarce-regions by 2025

* 27% of the urban population in the developing world does not have piped water in its house

* 99.7% of all the water on earth is not available for human and animal consumption,

* 52% of total global water desalination occurs in the Middle East.

The interdependency of water and energy is set to intensify in the coming years, with significant implications for both energy and water security. Each resource faces rising demands and constraints in many regions as a consequence of economic and population growth and climate change. As a result, considering water supply needs when planning electricity provision can open different pathways for both and lower the cost of electricity for households.

The water-energy nexus refers to the multiple points of mutual reliance of water and energy for societal use, from extraction, to processing, through point of use - and continuing through to disposal in the case of water. The components of the water network include A) water supply (extraction, treatment, and distribution), B) point of use (power generation, industrial, commercial, agriculture, residential), and, C) wastewater treatment (conveyance, treatment, and disposal).

Water-food-energy nexus

The water-food-energy nexus is central to sustainable development. The demand for all three is increasing, driven by a rising global population, rapid urbanization, changing diets and economic growth. The inextricable linkages between these critical domains require a suitably integrated approach to ensuring water and food security, and sustainable agriculture and energy production worldwide.

In 2016, the World Economic Forum (WEF) ranked water crisis as one of the most likely and impactful risks facing the world within the next 10 years. It is ranked above better-known risks such as weapons of mass destruction, food crisis, infectious diseases, terrorist attacks, and cyber attack. An urgent challenge facing governments, policymakers, and other stakeholders is to meet the growing resource demands, particularly for energy and water, to ensure adequate supply and distribution while simultaneously limiting greenhouse gas emissions.

Because water and energy are linked in their extraction, conversion/treatment, and use, efforts to limit planetary impacts and mitigate associated risks from increasing use of one need to be undertaken without increasing the impacts and/or risks associated with the other.

The conservation dimension and renewable energy

While ongoing technological and environmental trends suggest that the water intensity of energy will decline in the future, the electricity generation mix in much of the world has been moving toward water-conserving technologies. Natural gas is replacing coal as the most common fuel choice in many regions, and natural gas-fired plants tend to require less water for cooling than coal-fired plants.

The two sides of the water-energy nexus—water for energy and energy for water—show interesting similarities. A common feature is that, quantitatively, only a small fraction of each resource (1% to 2%) is tied up in the production of the other. This helps to keep internal water energy multipliers small—so that a jump in the demand for one resource is unlikely to cause a large, cyclical jump in the demand for the other.

Recent studies found that renewable energy (RE) could supply 80% of electricity demand in the contiguous United States in 2050. The major constraint for increasing penetration of REs is their availability and intermittency, which can be addressed using energy storage or load shifting when available to rectify the imbalance between renewable energy generation and energy demand. Aggressive deployment of energy-efficient technologies and power generation from REs in the United States can reduce annual water withdrawals from 2010 levels by 38.7 trillion gallons by 2050, i.e., approximately 30% below 2010 levels.

Institutional partnerships to address water scarcity

Collaboration amongst stakeholders, public – private – civil society, is essential when it comes to coming up with solutions to water scarcity. Lao People's Democratic Republic favours to realize its hydropower-generating potential, whereas Thailand seeks cheap energy (hydropower), more water for its modernized agriculture sector and enhanced flows in the Chao Phraya Basin. Vietnam wishes to protect its efficient agriculture and aquaculture production in the Delta from saltwater intrusion. Cambodia, on the other hand, prefers the conservation of the current hydrological regime, including the seasonal flooding, which gives rise to its significant fishery.

Admittedly, apart from generating awareness that the dramatic overuse and wastage of water is leading to precarious decline in water sources, policy makers also need to be aware that the baseline data collected in the water sector is not always reflecting the reality. So, it would be useful to create reliable fact bases that everybody can access and design solutions that are feasible. Water is also a very local issue, therefore 'glocal' solutions have been built with much awareness and strategic planning. Otherwise, local problems never rank high on the political agenda of the country.

Cut to credits, the sustainable availability of water and energy will be dependent on how the nexus is understood, internalized and managed. The nexus consideration is often pursued with "two at one time" analysis. For instance, energy-water nexus is analysed through a two-way interaction in the use of water for energy production and the use of energy for water production. The same principles apply when studying the interactions of water-food nexus and food-energy nexus. Another layer of complexity is introduced with the further link of energy-water to food security.