Not all low-carbon energy pathways are environmentally “no-regrets” options

Konadu, D. D.; Mourão, Zenaida; Allwood, Julian M.; Richards, Keith; Kopec, Grant M.; McMahon, R.A.; Fenner, Richard

doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.10.002

Cited by 15 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Comparison of the total current (2015) and 2030 water resource abstraction requirement for the CCC Central scenario and the UK Carbon Plan pathways (CP) (presented in ref. ): a) Freshwater (FW) and b) Tidal water (TW). [Hi CCS = High Carbon Capture and Storage; Hi Nuclear = High Nuclear; Hi Ren = High Renewables].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In order to ensure that all aspects of the projected energy mix of the CCC Central scenario are adequately captured and analyzed for their water resource implications, this study employs an integrated whole system resource accounting methodology. This method follows a similar approach presented in Konadu et al and Schoonbaert, and involves a top‐down analysis of the interconnections and resource use accounting of the energy system. The approach maps, tracks, and estimates the water resource requirement for different sectors of the energy system supply chain, spanning indigenous primary resource extraction and production, fossil fuel refining, and thermal power generation.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Three main analytical stages are considered: mapping of the linkages between the Central Scenario energy system projections and water resources, and downscaling these from a national (UK) to major river catchments (in England and Wales) and at the regional level in Scotland and Northern Ireland, based on the current spatial distribution of energy system infrastructure; estimation of the water requirements for the deployment of the different energy system technologies of the Central Scenario to 2030 within the major river catchments in England and Wales, and for Scotland and Northern Ireland; and (3) comparison of the output of the overall water resource requirements of the Central Scenario and the 2050 Carbon Plan pathways (based on a study by Konadu et al) at the national scale.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The output of the spatial downscaling of the CCC central scenario is then used to estimate the associated future water resource requirements in each river catchment/country. The water resource requirement estimation follows an approach presented in Konadu et al, which combines the capacity of different power generation, and oil refining technologies with associated water use per unit of energy (electricity or petroleum) output to estimate the overall water requirement for each river catchment/country, i.e., with respect to Scotland and Northern Ireland. This approach presents as a linear resource accounting model illustrated in Equation

W_{rs} = {140%true \sum}_{W T = i}^{n}_{}^{} C_{Ti} W_{Ti}

…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This has led to several recent studies on the UK water‐energy nexus, most of which focus on thermal electricity generation and impacts of different energy system trajectories and appraising the impacts of technological assumptions and using analysis at different spatial scales. Byers et al and Konadu et al analyzed the UK Carbon Plan pathways on a national scale, each considering different scenarios of cooling technology deployment and future location of power plants. Both studies concluded that the UK could face significant water resource stress under a future of high carbon capture and storage (CCS) deployment for thermal electricity generation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Catchment Level Water Resource Constraints on UK Policies for Low‐Carbon Energy System Transitions by 2030

Konadu

Fenner

2017

Global Challenges

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Water and energy provision are intricately interdependent (although some low-carbon energy technologies are generally water neutral, e.g., solar photo voltaic (PV) and wind power). Water is required across most parts of the energy supply chain, particularly for the following activities: extraction and refining of fossil fuels, hydropower generation, thermal power plant cooling, and increasingly in the irrigation of bioenergy crops. Thus, delivering the required expansion and transition to low-carbon energy systems will have direct implications for water resource use. Whether these demands for water can be met sustainably needs to be more fully examined and understood. A key factor is how water resource availability varies across geographical regions. This poses significant challenges to the increased deployment of energy technologies, which require water, and is particularly critical for those regions with poor and limited renewable water resources. These constraints are magnified further in highly populated, high energy demanding, and industrialized regions where water demand for energy is projected to increase, vis-a-vis demand by other sectors. [5] In the UK, the Climate Change Act 2008 stipulates an ambitious target of reducing GHG emissions by 80% on 1990 levels by 2050. [6] The transition to a low-carbon energy system is considered a top priority, as demonstrated through the Energy Act 2013, [7] with the rolling out of Electricity Market Reform which has been designed to accelerate the delivery of low-carbon and renewable energy deployment and climate change targets at lower cost while maintaining reliability. [8] The main policy blueprint of the UK government's low-carbon energy system transition agenda are captured in the 2050 Carbon Plan, [9] and the legally sanctioned five-yearly Carbon Budgets of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC). These provide scenarios and pathways, which project different mixes of energy supply technologies to 2050. While these policies project the achievement of 80% GHG emissions reduction target at minimal cost to the UK economy, implications of this transition for sustainable environmental resources, principally water use, are not adequately dealt with. This is more important as some of the low-carbon energy technologies considered in these policy pathways are comparatively highly water intensive. In the UK water resource availability is highly spatially variable, there is therefore a limit on how much thermal generation could be deployed across different regions even though the technology The UK government has proposed different low-carbon energy system options that lead to meeting its greenhouse gas emissions target of 80% reduction on 1990 levels by 2050. While these energy system options meet emission targets at feasible economic cost, water requirement for the deployment of the proposed energy technology mix is not adequately accounted for. This may become critical, as some of the proposed energy technologies are relatively more water-intensive, and could result in sign...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%