Link between POWER and WATER security

Water is used across all types of industrial applications, including energy. In most energy scenarios, water is important for cooling; without it, a power generation site (of any kind) will stop operating.

According to Chetan Mistry, strategy and marketing manager for Xylem Africa, there are many examples of the water and power relationship. \

“In 2013, India had to shut down a thermal plant due to severe water shortages. On several occasions in the past 20 years, Australia has reduced coal power operations to safeguard municipal water supplies. And in South Africa, new power plants built in the past decade have started using more expensive dry cooling systems due to insufficient water supplies.”

A report from the World Bank states that between 2010 and 2014, more than 50% of the world’s power utility and energy companies have experienced water-related business impacts. At least two-thirds of power utilities indicate that water is a

substantive risk to business operations. The relationship is set to become more strained: by 2035, the world’s energy consumption will grow by 35%, increasing water consumption by 85%. A total of 2.5 billion people do not have access to reliable electricity, and 2.8 billion live in water-stressed areas.

Much of that pressure exists in sub-Saharan Africa. The African Development Bank notes that Africa has the lowest electrification rate of all regions. It is estimated that only 43% of the population has access to electricity, compared with 77% in the developing world. In sub-Saharan Africa, the ratio is much lower, at 32% – and only 18% in rural areas.

Undoing the vicious cycle

“It is a vicious cycle: no water means no power, and no power means no water. Fortunately, a lot can be done to reverse the situation. In the past, water has not been treated with the same level of scrutiny and management that is applied to energy. But presently, companies are scrutinising their water usage, looking for leaks and other forms of waste, and taking action to create their own water stockpiles, such as capturing rainwater or recycling greywater,” explains Mistry.

“Every time someone learns to use water more efficiently and values the resource, it is a change. Whether they use drip irrigation for their veggie garden, recycle water for other uses, or diligently report leaks they see, it all counts. Once we understand that water and energy come together to make our world possible, we start taking water more seriously,” he concludes.