A publication from UNESCO-IHE, the University of Twente and Delft University of Technology, Accounting for water scarcity and pollution in the rules of international trade, includes a chapter by Mr. Jakob Granit and Mr. Andreas Lindström outlining the constraints and opportunities to meeting the increasing demand for water in energy production.
Constraints, opportunities to meet increasing water demand for energy
(chapter summary)
Their chapter investigates how the availability of water constrains energy generation at different spatial scales. Regional analysis in Europe, USA and the Middle East all indicate consistent patterns of increasing water demand for energy production that follow economic development. The paper also analyses data on water withdrawals and use in the energy production chain for different sources of fuel and power production technologies to indicate patterns in water consumption. It concludes that joint water and energy assessments would improve future water and energy planning and enable the formulation of policy measures that are able to account for both assets in conjunction taking other water users into account.
Download the chapter here.
Hoekstra, A.Y., Aldaya, M.M. and Avril, B. (eds.) (2011) Proceedings of the ESF Strategic Workshop on accounting for water scarcity and pollution in the rules of international trade, Amsterdam, 25-26 November 2010, Value of Water Research Report Series No. 54, UNESCO-IHE, Delft, the Netherlands.
