Analysis of the Water-Energy Nexus Applied to an Insular System: Case Study of Tenerife

Abstract

Insular territories face important challenges in achieving effective sustainable development, mainly due to low internal availability of basic resources, which results in a high external dependency. The analysis of the energy–water nexus of islands is a powerful instrument to evaluate the sustainable goals of the region and to identify the key actions to take to fulfill these objectives in future scenarios. The aim of this study is to review the energy–water nexus applied to Tenerife (Canary Islands), considering three scenarios: the base case scenario, corresponding to the current situation, where 1.1% of consumed water is dedicated to energy production and 10.2% of the energy is supplied for water abstraction, depuration, and ocean discharge; and two projections for the year 2050: a maintained trend scenario, and an ecology-aware scenario, where the population growth and the deployment of electrical vehicles are considered. In 2018, the total energy consumed was 1954 ktoe, of which renewable energy made up 2%. In the maintained trend scenario, this amount rises to 2003 ktoe, of which renewable energies represent 29%. However, in the ecology-aware scenario, this amount could be reduced to 1710 ktoe of which 51% of energy is obtained from renewable sources.

Local reactive power management using solar pumping in isolated electrical systems

“…Connected solar pumps are arising as an interesting alternative to obtain water in islanded systems, from a sustainable perspective of the water-energy nexus [3]. The solar pump working in parallel to the grid can provide active power without compromising the pump working conditions.…”

“…Approximately 66% of the population does not have these means to live, which is why there is currently a high deficit in food, energy and water security worldwide [2], representing a high risk in terms of population sustainability. The supply of fresh water is related to the availability of energy use in pumping from water wells, desalination, reclaimed water, wastewater treatment, transportation, and distribution, which are energy-intensive processes [3]. In the case of isolated territories, the dependence of external resources to obtain energy and water is critical due to the availability of internal resources [4].…”

Safeguarding Biodiversity and Promoting Sustainable Development: Assessing the Energy–Water Nexus of San Andrés Island, Colombia

“…where W i dem represents the total water demand per sector in Hm 3 , and r i cons denotes the ratio of water consumed (%W i dem ) to water demand for sector i, obtained from [34].…”

“…Additionally, 26% represents the electricity demand in other sectors, such as public roads and official sectors, among others (Figure 6). The electricity consumption in processes related to water production and distribution was calculated using the methodology described in [34]. The primary energy-intensive processes involved in water management include (i) desalination plants for treating brackish and seawater, (ii) wastewater treatment plants, (iii) wells, and (iv) aqueduct network distribution.…”

“…The primary energy-intensive processes involved in water management include (i) desalination plants for treating brackish and seawater, (ii) wastewater treatment plants, (iii) wells, and (iv) aqueduct network distribution. Table 2 shows the average energy consumption for each of these processes, derived from values obtained from [34]. Figure 7 illustrates the specific level of demand for each fossil resource, which is allocated among the transportation systems and the sectors directly utilizing these resources.…”