The consumptive water footprint of the European Union energy sector

Abstract

Energy security for the EU is a priority of the European Commission. Although both blue and green water resources are increasingly scarce, the EU currently does not explicitly account for water resource use in its energy related policies. Here we quantify the freshwater resources required to produce the different energy sources in the EU, by means of the water footprint (WF) concept. We conduct the most geographically detailed consumptive WF assessment for the EU to date, based on the newest spatial databases of energy sources. We calculate that fossil fuels and nuclear energy are moderate water users (136-627 m 3 /terajoules (m 3 TJ -1 )). Of the renewable energy sources, wood, reservoir hydropower and first generation biofuels require large water amounts (9114-137 624 m 3 TJ -1 ). The most water efficient are solar, wind, geothermal and run-of-river hydropower (1-117 m 3 TJ -1 ). For the EU territory for the year 2015, our geographically detailed assessment results in a WF of energy production from domestic water resources of 198 km 3 , or 1068 litres per person per day. The WF of energy consumption is larger as the EU is to a high level dependent on imports for its energy supply, amounting to 242 km 3 per year, or 1301 litres per person per day. The WF of energy production within the 281 EU statistical NUTS-2 (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics) regions shows spatially heterogeneous values. Different energy sources produced and consumed in the EU contribute to and are produced under average annual and monthly blue water stress and green water scarcity. The amount of production under WS is especially high during summer months. Imported energy sources are also partly produced under WS, revealing risks to EU energy security due to externalisation. For the EU, to decarbonise and increase the share of renewables of its energy supply, it needs to formulate policies that take the water use of energy sources into account. In doing so, the spatial and temporal characteristics of water use and water stress should particularly be considered.

Water Resources for Sustainable Healthy Diets: State of the Art and Outlook

“…Consumptive water use to produce this energy is rather small for fossil fuels and nuclear energy but is substantial for biomass-based renewable energy as well as reservoir hydropower [25][26][27][28]. The renewables wind, solar and run-of-river hydropower have low unit WFs per amount of energy produced [25,29]. Decarbonisation of the energy system can thereby put extra pressure on water resources [29][30][31][32].…”

“…The renewables wind, solar and run-of-river hydropower have low unit WFs per amount of energy produced [25,29]. Decarbonisation of the energy system can thereby put extra pressure on water resources [29][30][31][32]. Including the WF of energy input in dietary assessments can thus substantially increase the total WF of a diet.…”

Production and Use of Sustainable C2‐C4 Alcohols – An Industrial Perspective

“…A further aspect that demands more attention is the water footprint of fuel production, which is particularly high when biobased fuels are used. Consequently, the European Commission's Joint Research Center currently recommends the introduction of water-related criteria into long-term energy policies [98]. As aviation accounts for approx.…”

Unlocking the Impacts of COVID-19 Lockdowns: Changes in Thermal Electricity Generation Water Footprint and Virtual Water Trade in Europe

“…Electricity trade in Europe was investigated by Abrell and Rausch. 28 The most recent and detailed study on the water footprint in the EU is provided by Vanham et al 26 Chini and Stillwell 29 combined the topics of water footprint and electricity trade and calculated the virtual water embedded in electricity trade throughout Europe at a monthly scale (2010–2017). However, most of the above studies do not consider subannual dynamics of electricity demand and generation and model the system under normal operating conditions.…”