The water-energy nexus: Insights into resilient development

11th March 2016

  

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ADVERTORIAL – By Nevenka Ristic

How do we ensure that our investments are resilient to climate risks? How do we make climate-smart policy choices against a backdrop of uncertainty? So far, the world has relied on global circulation models that provide information on general climate patterns whose projections are downscaled to fit local contexts. However, as useful as this method is for setting the broader context, it does not incorporate the local vulnerabilities to climate change needed to inform investment and policy choices.

Building Resilience in Planning and Investment Designs

To fill this critical knowledge gap, the World Bank Group joined forces with several external partners to develop an innovative tool (Decision Tree Framework) that tackles long-term climate uncertainty in water projects. The tool assists project managers and practitioners to pragmatically assess potential climate risks and uncertainties. The tool first screens for climate vulnerabilities, and a “decision tree” subsequently helps project teams assess and then develop plans to manage climate and other risks.

According to Dr Diego J. Rodriguez, Senior Economist at the World Bank, “what makes this methodology innovative is its step-by-step design—similar to a tree whose each 'branch' builds off the previous one. Further or deeper analysis is performed only as needed.”

Energy-Water Nexus

Conservation is inseparable from the many challenges of changing patterns of resource use. Nexus policy-making is about designing resilient strategies that account for the synergies between water, food and energy systems.

Rodriguez says that “the water-energy nexus is complex and wide-ranging. Water and energy affect all other sectors, are critical to the economy and human wellbeing. In order to ensure water and energy access for all, the resources will have to be managed in an integrated manner to capitalise on efficiencies and synergies. Coordinating management will increase sustainability in the future and reduce vulnerability to resource scarcity or price fluctuations.”

According to Dr Paul T Yillia, Programme Manager (Water-Energy Nexus) from Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All), “the water-energy-food nexus has been endorsed by a number of prominent and influential global policy actors. Increasingly, the concept has emerged as a major research, policy and governance instrument for cross-sector interactions across four main development sectors: water, energy, food and ecosystems. These sectors are often considered within an intertwined and interdependent matrix or framework for identifying synergies and balancing trade-offs through multi-stakeholder interactions across multiple sectors.”

A study in South Africa that forms part of the World Bank’s Thirsty Energy Initiative has found that major inter-basin transfers support water for power in South Africa. “These transfers play a critical role in the power sector in the country, and you see that water from different basins can end up supplying the water needs of a particular energy area,” says Rodriguez.

Launched in January 2014, Thirsty Energy is an initiative that promotes sustainable water and energy resource management by working with governments and partners globally. “We are currently working in South Africa, China and Morocco,” Rodriguez explains, “to integrate water constraints into the energy sector and better address water and energy challenges to ensure a sustainable development of energy resources.”

He adds: “Our work in South Africa incorporated water constraints into an existing energy model and examined the trade-offs with other water users. The exercise revealed many interesting results.”

These include that once the true costs of water supply are incorporated into the energy model, the model chooses dry cooling for most coal power plants. “Therefore,” says Rodriguez, “dry cooling makes economic sense in South Africa even if it decreases the efficiency of the power plant. Bringing the true costs of supply water to the sector increases the costs of the system.”

The leading World Bank energy-water nexus expert returns to African Utility Week in Cape Town in May as a featured speaker and panel moderator in the event’s water conference. Says Rodriguez: “I look forward to discussing the findings from Thirsty Energy’s work in South Africa and how integrating water into energy modelling reveals profound connections between the resources and changes the energy outcomes and operational decisions.” He will also be doing a presentation on Decision Tree Framework methodology and how to build resilience in water planning and investment designs.

Yillia will also be speaking at African Utility Week. His presentation will display the opportunities and challenges for operationalising the Water-Energy Nexus concept, highlighting, in particular, the approaches undertaken by Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) – an international non-for-profit partnership launched by the UN Secretary General to mobiliae international action on energy access, renewable energy and energy efficiency.

African Utility Week

Water resource management will form an important part of the programme of the 16th African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa conference and trade exhibition that returns to Cape Town from 17-19 May 2016 – gathering some 6000 engineers, stakeholders and solution providers from around the globe.

The event will feature 250 exhibitors, 250 speakers, a six-stream strategic conference, a free-to-attend technical conference on the expo floor, three high-profile keynote sessions, technical site visits and the coveted industry awards gala dinner. The African Utility Week Industry Awards also include categories for African Water Executive and Water Utility of the Year where pioneering water utilities and innovative projects for saving water are recognised and celebrated.

The trade exhibition will be free when registering in advance and showcase water and energy saving technologies and services for the industry and feature hands-on demonstrations and CPD-accredited technical workshops on the exhibition floor.

African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa are organised by Spintelligent, leading Cape Town-based trade exhibition and conference organiser, and the African office of Clarion Events Ltd, based in the UK. The event forms part of a global energy event series, including European Utility Week, Australian Utility Week, Asian Utility Week and Latin American Utility Week. Other African flagship events in Spintelligent’s power portfolio are East African Power Industry Convention (EAPIC), West African Power Industry Convention (WAPIC), iPAD Rwanda Power & Mining Investment Forum and iPAD Cameroon Energy & Infrastructure Forum.

Dates for African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa 2016:
Conference and expo: 17-19 May 2016
Awards gala dinner:  18 May 2016
Site visits: 20 May 2016
Location: CTICC, Cape Town, South Africa

Websites: www.african-utility-week.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfricaUtilities
Linkedin: African Power Forum

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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