An integrated assessment of global and regional water demands for electricity generation to 2095 |
| |
| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 3-133 Markin/CNRL Natural Resources Engineering Facility, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2W2;2. Joint Global Change Research Institute, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 5825 University Research Court, Suite 3500, College Park, MD 20740, USA;1. Key Laboratory of Agricultural Soil and Water Engineering in Arid and Semiarid Areas, Ministry of Education, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China;2. Institute of Water Saving Agriculture in Arid regions of China, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China;3. Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA;1. State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycles in River Basins, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China;2. State Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China;3. School of Public Administration, Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, Hangzhou 310018, China;4. CABR Technology Co., Ltd, China Academy of Building Research, Beijing 100013, China;5. College of Life and Environmental Science, Minzu University of China, Beijing 100081, China |
| |
| Abstract: | Electric power plants account for approximately half the global industrial water withdrawal. Although continued electric-sector expansion is probable, significant variations in water intensity by electricity technology and cooling system type make its effects on water demands uncertain. Using GCAM, an integrated assessment model of energy, agriculture, and climate change, we establish lower-, median-, and upper-bound estimates for current electric-sector water withdrawals and consumption in 14 geopolitical regions, and compare them with available estimates. We then explore water use for electricity to 2095, focusing on uncertainties in water withdrawal and consumption intensities, power plant cooling system changes, and adoption rates of water-saving technologies. Results reveal a probable decrease in the water withdrawal intensity with capital stock turnover, but a corresponding increase in consumptive use, for which technologies under development may compensate. At a regional scale, water use varies significantly based on the existing capital stock and its evolution over the century. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ |
|
