The water-energy nexus is the relationship between the water used for energy production, including both electricity and sources of fuel such as oil and natural gas, and the energy consumed to extract, purify, deliver, heat/cool, treat and dispose of water (and wastewater) sometimes referred to as the energy intensity (EI). Energy is needed in every stage of the water cycle from producing, moving, treating and heating water to collecting and treating wastewater. The relationship is not truly a closed loop as the water used for energy production need not be the same water that is processed using that energy, but all forms of energy production require some input of water making the relationship inextricable. Among the first studies to evaluate the water and energy relationship was a life-cycle analysis conducted by Peter Gleick in 1994 that highlighted the interdependence and initiated the joint study of water and energy. In 2014 the US Department of Energy (DOE) released their report on the water-energy nexus citing the need for joint water-energy policies and better understanding of the nexus and its susceptibility to climate change as a matter of national security. The hybrid Sankey diagram in the DOE's 2014 water-energy nexus report summarizes water and energy flows in the US by sector, demonstrating interdependence as well as singling out thermoelectric power as the single largest user of water, used mainly for cooling.
Water used in the energy sector
All types of power generation consume water either to process the raw materials used in the facility, constructing and maintaining the plant, or to just generate the electricity itself. Renewable power sources such as photovoltaic solar and wind power, which require little water to produce energy, require water in processing the raw materials to build. Water can either be used or consumed, and can be categorized as fresh, ground, surface, blue, grey or green among others. Water is considered used if it does not reduce the supply of water to downstream users, i.e. water that is taken and returned to the same source (instream use), such as in thermoelectric plants that use water for cooling and are by far the largest users of water. While used water is returned to the system for downstream uses, it has usually been degraded in some way, mainly due to thermal or chemical pollution, and the natural flow has been altered which does not factor into an assessment if only the quantity of water is considered. Water is consumed when it is removed completely from the system, such as by evaporation or consumption by crops or humans. When assessing water use all these factors must be considered as well as spatiotemporal considerations making precise determination of water use very difficult. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), water stress also poses risks to the transport of fuels and materials. In 2022, droughts and severe heatwaves led to low water levels in key European rivers such as the Rhine, limiting barge transport of coal, chemicals and other materials. Spang et al. (2014) conducted a study looking at the water consumption for electricity production (WCEP) internationally that both showed the variation in energy types produced across countries as well as the vast differences in efficiency of power production per unit of water use (Figure 1). Operations of water distribution systems and power distribution systems under emergency conditions of limited power and water availability is an important consideration for improving the overall resilience of the water – energy nexus. Khatavkar and Mays (2017a) present a methodology for control of water distribution and power distribution systems under emergency conditions of drought and limited power availability to ascertain at least minimal supply of cooling water to the power plants. Khatavkar and Mays (2017) applied an optimization model for water – energy nexus system for a hypothetical regional level system which showed an improved resilience for several contingency scenarios. Increasingly controversial has been the use of water resources for hydraulic fracturing of shale gas and tight oil reserves. Many environmentalists are deeply concerned about the potential for such operations to exacerbate local water scarcity (since the water volumes required are large) and to produce considerable volumes of polluted water (both directly through pollution of fracking water, and indirectly through contamination of groundwater). With rising energy prices in North America and Europe in the 2020s it is likely that government and industry interest in hydraulic fracturing will grow.
Energy intensity The operation of urban water systems requires substantial energy support. Key processes such as water transfer, consumption, and wastewater treatment consume significant amounts of energy, sparking discussions about the energy intensity and carbon emissions of water systems.
US (California) In 2001, operating water systems in the US consumed approximately 3% of the total annual electricity (~75 TWh). The California's State Water Project (SWP) and Central Valley Project (CVP) are together the largest water system in the world with the highest water lift, over 2000 ft. across the Tehachapi Mountains, delivering water from the wetter and relatively rural north of the state, to the agriculturally intensive central valley, and finally to the arid and heavily populated south. Consequently, the SWP and CVP are the single largest consumers of electricity in California consuming approximately 5 TWh of electricity each per year. In 2001, 19% of the state's total electricity use (~48 TWh/year) was used in processing water, including end uses, with the urban sector accounting for 65% of this. In addition to electricity, 30% of California's natural gas consumption was due to water-related processes, mainly residential water heating, and 88 million gallons of diesel was consumed by groundwater pumps for agriculture. The residential sector alone accounted for 48% of the total combined electricity and natural gas consumed for water-related processes in the state.
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