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Defining water-related energy for global comparison, clearer communication, and sharper policy

Publication ,  Journal Article
Kenway, SJ; Lam, KL; Stokes-Draut, J; Sanders, KT; Binks, AN; Bors, J; Head, B; Olsson, G; McMahon, JE
Published in: Journal of Cleaner Production
November 1, 2019

The need for energy in water provision and use is obvious, however the drivers are often complex, difficult to assess, and often inconsistently presented. Here we build a clearer definition and conceptual framework of “water-related energy”. We apply this framework to harmonise data and results across disparate studies so that regional estimates of water-related energy can be compared in a consistent way for the first time. We show how widely different boundaries have been used for analysis including or excluding: water and wastewater utilities, as well as residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural water users. Consequently, understanding of what constitutes “water-related energy” is widely divergent. We demonstrate how up to 12.6% of total national primary energy use can be influenced by water, when (i) water-related energy of water users, and (ii) energy use by water utilities, are all included. Water heating for residential, commercial, and industrial purposes is the dominant fraction. Water and wastewater utilities use 0.4–2.3% of primary energy or 0.6–6.2% of regional electricity, mostly for water pumping. This is substantial, but lower than frequent claims in the media and reports. To answer how is miscommunication influencing policy? we undertake a novel systematic tracking of communication to demonstrate distortion between research and its application in government reports, media and policy. We show that significant confusion is caused by (i) unclear or inconsistent boundaries (ii) widely differing use of terms for water “system”, “sector”, and “supply”, (iii) frequent failure to distinguish ‘energy’ from ‘electricity’ and (iv) wide use of non-standard units. While acknowledging that media is often less accurate than government reports, and that peer-reviewed articles generally have highest overall quality, we observe miscommunication and inconsistency in all publication forms. We argue a global protocol is needed to improve consistency of analysis and sharpen policy towards sustainable water end use because this is where most water-related energy occurs. We establish a foundational framework and definitions for this protocol while recognising much more needs to be done. The strong practical and theoretical implications of the work for sustainable cleaner production are elucidated. This is timely, as global quantification of water-related energy has yet to occur particularly for water end-use which is the dominant component.

Duke Scholars

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Published In

Journal of Cleaner Production

DOI

ISSN

0959-6526

Publication Date

November 1, 2019

Volume

236

Related Subject Headings

  • Environmental Sciences
  • 40 Engineering
  • 33 Built environment and design
  • 0915 Interdisciplinary Engineering
  • 0910 Manufacturing Engineering
  • 0907 Environmental Engineering
 

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ICMJE
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Kenway, S. J., Lam, K. L., Stokes-Draut, J., Sanders, K. T., Binks, A. N., Bors, J., … McMahon, J. E. (2019). Defining water-related energy for global comparison, clearer communication, and sharper policy. Journal of Cleaner Production, 236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.06.333
Kenway, S. J., K. L. Lam, J. Stokes-Draut, K. T. Sanders, A. N. Binks, J. Bors, B. Head, G. Olsson, and J. E. McMahon. “Defining water-related energy for global comparison, clearer communication, and sharper policy.” Journal of Cleaner Production 236 (November 1, 2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.06.333.
Kenway SJ, Lam KL, Stokes-Draut J, Sanders KT, Binks AN, Bors J, et al. Defining water-related energy for global comparison, clearer communication, and sharper policy. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2019 Nov 1;236.
Kenway, S. J., et al. “Defining water-related energy for global comparison, clearer communication, and sharper policy.” Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 236, Nov. 2019. Scopus, doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.06.333.
Kenway SJ, Lam KL, Stokes-Draut J, Sanders KT, Binks AN, Bors J, Head B, Olsson G, McMahon JE. Defining water-related energy for global comparison, clearer communication, and sharper policy. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2019 Nov 1;236.
Journal cover image

Published In

Journal of Cleaner Production

DOI

ISSN

0959-6526

Publication Date

November 1, 2019

Volume

236

Related Subject Headings

  • Environmental Sciences
  • 40 Engineering
  • 33 Built environment and design
  • 0915 Interdisciplinary Engineering
  • 0910 Manufacturing Engineering
  • 0907 Environmental Engineering