The Energy-Water NexusBringing Together Different Perspectives

Water• Climate change is a key

driver of water systems.• Current focus is water

sufficiency and climate change adaptation.

• Energy dimension provides new insights into mitigation potential in the water sector.

Energy• Energy systems drive

climate change• Current focus is energy

sufficiency and climate change mitigation.

• Water dimension provides new insights into how climate adaptation will affect energy systems.

1Charles Heaps, Ph.D. Director, US Center of SEI

charlie.heaps@sei-us.org

A Few Nexus Issues• Hydropower• Cooling Water for Thermal

Power Systems• Energy for Desalination• Water and Land-use for

Biofuels• Energy for Agricultural

Pumping• Energy and Water for

Sewage Systems• Integrating Mitigation and

Adaptation

2

Models to Support Nexus Policy• Rather than create new tools unfamiliar to both energy and water

professionals, link existing tools that are already widely used and credible in both fields.

• Provide insights to both groups as a way of starting dialogue between energy and water professionals.

• Over last two years, SEI has been developing such a system based on its existing modeling tools: LEAP (energy) and WEAP (water).

• Tightly coupled system where LEAP and WEAP run together and are dynamically linked: each tool can request data or results from the other.

• Common assumptions on scenarios, seasonal/time of day information, geographic boundaries

• Flexible enough to model a wide variety of energy-water issues.• Transparent & easy to use for a wide target audience, but powerful

enough to provide genuine insights.

3

Long range Energy Alternatives Planning Systemwww.energycommunity.org

· Integrated energy planning and GHG mitigation assessment.

· Local, national, regional and global applicability.

· Energy, emissions and cost-benefit assessment.

· Fast, transparent, powerful data management, reporting & scenario building tools.

· Choice of methods: simulation/optimization & engineering/econometrics.

· Widely applied (1000s of users in 195 countries).

· Used by governments, NGOs, utilities, universities, consulting companies.

· Recent applications: 2012: Energy for All: 20 region global energy study for Rio+20

2010: Modeling to support the Massachusetts Clean Energy & Climate Plan

2009: Europe’s Share of the Climate Challenge

Water Evaluation And Planning Systemwww.weap21.org

• Integrated watershed hydrology and water planning model

• GIS-based, graphical drag & drop interface

• Physical simulation of water demands and supplies

• Additional simulation modeling: user-created variables, modeling equations and links to spreadsheets, scripts & other models

• Scenario management capabilities

• Groundwater, water quality, reservoir, hydropower and financial modules

6

Results Displayed on the Map

7

Linking Water and Energy Issues

8

Limited hydropower & cooling water, increased energy requirements for pumping.

Increased energy requirements for desalination.

Water requirements for hydropower & thermal cooling

Water conservation

Hydropower & fossil generation

Wind & solar, less water-intensive cooling

Insufficient water for hydro and cooling, even with increased

groundwater pumping.

Still insufficient water--further enhance supply with

desalination.

Electricity demand

Energy efficiency

Fuel Use GHGs Local air pollutionCosts

Energy Demand

Water Demand

Water Supply

Energy Supply

Hydropower energy & cooling water requirements

Reduced water demands

Groundwater depletionWater quality

Unmet ecological flowsCosts

Status

9

Beta version being tested: full release summer 2012

www.weap21.org www.energycommunity.org

Charles Heaps, Ph.D. Director, US Center of SEI charlie.heaps@sei-us.org