Estimation of Future Freshwater Demands
for Electricity Generation in Different Policy Pathways
Master(2016) Nozomi Ando
To achieve sustainable society, both energy and water play important roles. Water and energy are tightly interlinked and highly interdependent. Recently, such a relationship between water and energy is drawing an attention as the “water-energy nexus”.
The objective of this study is to assess the effects of choice of power generation methods such as thermal power and renewable energy on water demands in the future.
For example, if nuclear power plant is chosen to reduce greenhouse gas emission, water demands greatly increase because nuclear power plant requires much amount of water.
But if wind power plant is chosen, water demands decrease because wind power needs negligible amount of water.Like this, water demands for electricity generation highly depends on power generation methods.
So I estimated future water demands for electricity generation in different energy policy pathways, and assessed the effects of electricity generation on water.
This study would be useful for deciding energy policies, especially in regions experiencing water scarcity.