CIV558/CIV658

Sustainable development and climate

change–energy-environment nexus

Presented by:
Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Gökçekuş
 Content

 Section 1: Chapter 6
 Section 2: Homework 6
 Section 1:
Renewable Energy Resources and
Sustainability of Water Desalination
 Water Scarcity

 Water scarcity is an issue that currently affects every

continent on the planet.
 Water scarcity occurs when, in a particular time period, water
demand nears or exceeds water availability.
 As stated, water scarcity depends, among other factors, on the
requirements of the local population.
Trend in population density and water
consumption
 Cont.

 According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and

Development (OECD), global water withdrawals are expected to
increase by 55%, caused by increases in demand from manufacturing
(400% growth), thermal electricity generation (140%) and domestic use
(130%).
 This increase in demand will occur particularly in countries undergoing
accelerated economic growth and social development such as Brazil,
Russia, India, Indonesia, China and South Africa.
 Demand from the energy sector is expected to increase (as energy
demand is expected to increase) with 90% of this demand again coming
from countries outside the OECD.
 Cont.

 According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation

and Development (OECD), freshwater availability will be
increasingly strained through 2050, if no new policies are
introduced, with an increase of 2.3 billion people living in
areas subjected to severe water stress, especially North and
South Africa and South and Central Asia.
 Currently, about 2.8 billion people live in areas that face
water scarcity.
 Of these, 1.2 billion live in areas that suffer from physical
water scarcity, while 500 million are approaching this state.
 Cont.

 Physical water scarcity occurs when the water resource in a

given location is insufficient to meet the demand.
 Arid regions are frequently characterized by this type of
water scarcity.
 Other regions are currently seeing artificially created physical
water scarcity due to overdevelopment of water withdrawal,
which leads to environmental degradation: river desiccation
and declining groundwater tables.
Physical and Economic surface water
scarcity in 2007
Percentage of country populations that will be
water stressed in the future
Actual renewable water resources (in
m3) per capita and per year in 2011
 Cont.

 Decline in groundwater levels is also a symptom of water

scarcity. In various areas of the world groundwater is an
important source of water.
 According to the UN, groundwater withdrawals have
increased 300% in the last 50 years. In some areas,
groundwater extraction already exceeds natural recharge
rates.
Can Sea Water Desalination Save The
World?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfr82RB72U8
 Desalination plant

 Water is vital to life, society and the economy.

 A study in 2016 found that around 4 billion of the global
population are facing moderate to severe water scarcity, about
66% of which live under conditions of severe water scarcity
for at least one month during a year.
 A United Nations’ report (2017) predicted that under average
economic growth without improvement in efficiency, global
freshwater demand could reach 40 percent above the current
demand by 2030.
 Cont.

 By considering the ongoing improvements in water

efficiency, only 20 percent of the supply–demand gap would
be closed.
 On the other hand, the potential remaining natural water
resources, which are sustainable to utilize, are limited.
 Beyond risks from climate change, supply-side options to
meet future water demand face rising costs due to steep
marginal costs
 Cont.

 There are non-conventional options, such as desalination

and reuse of wastewater, which are the ultimate solution
to meet water demand in specific regions.
 Rapidly progressing desalination technologies and market
maturation have led to a significant drop in desalination costs,
and the environmental impacts of the desalination process are
progressively being mitigated.
 Cont.

 Even though desalination costs are likely to remain more

expensive than other traditional water options, it increasingly
will be considered as an option in specific areas due to
 climate change,
 natural and physical water scarcity,
 freshwater resource security, and t
 he need to improve access to clean water (health problems)
 Cont.

 Climate change is likely to impose a greater incidence of

drought due to more limited and unpredictable rainfall and a
higher rate of evaporation due to rising temperatures.
 This rising temperature could also cause an increase in water
demand, exacerbating competition among agriculture,
municipal, and industrial users. Desalination is a solution to
enhance climate change resilience.
 Additionally, desalination is economically and politically
important to achieve self-reliance for specific areas
 Cont.

 Singapore is an example where investment in desalination have been

made to reduce their dependency on imported water due to their
geopolitical situation.
 Furthermore, with population growth, providing quality water for cities
becomes a challenge for policy-makers.
 Supplying water to dynamic sectors of the economy, namely commercial
and industrial users, is an economic priority.
 Any failure in providing water to these sectors leads to high economic,
social, and political costs.
 Desalination is considered a secure supply with high reliability for these
water demands
 Cont.

 As a result, desalination is becoming an economical and

practical option to meet water demand in an increasing
number of locations.
 Currently, more than 150 countries in the world are already
using desalination technologies, which account for about one
percent of the world’s drinking water
Total worldwide installed desalination: (a) capacity by
technology; (b) technology share; and (c) share of each user for
worldwide desalinated water
 Cont.

 On the other hand, the total world energy consumption has

been forecast to increase by 44% from 2006 to 2030,
according to a report by the US Department of Energy
(2018).
 Desalination is an energy-intensive process.
 Energy requirement in commercial desalination processes
ranges from a minimum of 1.8 KWh/m3 for reverse osmosis
technology to a maximum of 12.5 KWh/m3 for multi-stage
flash technology
 Cont.

 On average, desalinating 1000 m3 of saline water by

conventional technologies consumes about 37 barrels of
crude oil (utilizing combined cycle power plant and reverse
osmosis desalination technology), which causes around 10
tons of CO2 emissions.
 According to the World Energy Outlook 2016, in the Middle
East, the water sector’s share of total electricity consumption
is expected to increase from 9% in 2015 to 16% by 2040,
because of a rise in desalination capacity.
Desalination: contributing to a more
sustainable world

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilLHfFY1ucU
Renewable Energy and Desalination

 Around the world communities depend on desalination for potable

water supplies.
 Remote locations in developing countries and small islands frequently
lack access to potable water and often to the electric grid.
 Also, in order to lower its environmental impact, desalination plants
require an energy source that has low emissions and at the same time is
affordable.
 Renewable energy sources such as solar photovoltaic and thermal, wind
or geothermal energy can be utilized to solve both issues, as using
locally available renewable resources is likely to be cost-effective.
 Cont.

 As desalination worldwide capacity currently surpasses 70

million m3 /day, this solution can result in noteworthy cuts in
greenhouse gases.
 Moreover, as the costs of renewable energy solutions are
expected to decline further, these will become more
attractive, especially in remote regions with low population
density and poor infrastructure for fresh water and electricity
transmission and distribution.
 Cont.

 Among renewable resources, hydropower and biomass

sources are not suitable to combine with desalination
technologies due to the requirement for water resources,
which is limited in regions facing water scarcity.
 In areas with abundant solar irradiance, the main focus has
been on integrating the desalination process and solar energy
since water scarcity is more likely to occur in these regions
 Solar energy, with 51 percent of worldwide renewable
desalination capacity, has the highest share, following wind
energy, which accounts for 30 percent
 The integration of desalination
technologies with Renewable Energy
The share of renewable energy technologies in
worldwide renewable-powered desalination
processes in 2017
 Cont.

 The combination energy source/desalination technology

is crucial in order to match energy and water demand
economically and with the lowest environmental impact
possible.
 The feasibility of a renewable energy plant will depend
on a variety of factors such as: location, salinity of feed-
water, available RE sources, plant capacity or
availability of grid electricity.
 Example: Hitachi solar-powered
desalination plants, Abu Dhabi - Hitachi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgXPooc7KmI
Section 2
 Homework 6

 Is Renewable Energy-Powered Desalination a Viable Solution

for Water Stressed Regions? Give two examples