Discussion on Water-Energy Nexus (Podcast)

RenewableEnergyWorld.com recently hosted a great roundtable discussion on the water-energy nexus and why it's so important for governments and companies to think about as they develop new sources of energy.

The discussion, called The Water-Energy Nexus: Trading One Problem for Another?, can be streamed online or downloaded as an MP3 file.

As their website describes:

Renewables are more environmentally benign sources of energy. But when it comes to water use, many question the sustainability of certain technologies. With water shortages looming in countries all over the world, concerns are growing about what our transition to renewables will do to exacerbate those problems.

Bill Hoffman, principal of Hoffman and Associates, talks about how water is used in thermal power plants, why water rights issues are getting more intense and how rainwater and wastewater collection are important pieces of the distributed energy mix.

Carey King, an energy and resource analyst for the Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy at the University of Texas, describes which technologies use the most water, the benefits and drawbacks of dry cooling towers for power plants and how U.S. water problems stack up with other countries around the world.

And Tom Rooney, CEO of SPG Solar, describes the lack of communication between businesses in the water industry and businesses in the renewable energy industry. He also discusses the benefits of solar PV technologies in helping reduce water use.

I just finished listening to the podcast and overall I found the discussion very interesting and informative. The panelists do a great job discussing the various aspects of the water-energy nexus – including the key messages that it takes a lot of energy to use water and a lot of water to produce energy. They even cover other issues such as how water systems can become more distributed through low impact development and water reuse in the same sense as energy systems can be distributed through PV solar and fuel cells.

To listen to the discussion visit: The Water-Energy Nexus: Trading One Problem for Another?

Hat-tip to Carol Maas for the lead!