IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natene/v3y2018i9d10.1038_s41560-018-0236-7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Decoupling between water use and thermoelectric power generation growth in China

Author

Listed:
  • Chao Zhang

    (Tongji University
    Tongji University)

  • Lijin Zhong

    (World Resources Institute (USA) Beijing Representative Office)

  • Jiao Wang

    (World Resources Institute (USA) Beijing Representative Office)

Abstract

As energy and water are fundamentally intertwined, understanding the spatial and temporal evolution of thermoelectric water use and water stress is important for both sustainable energy development and water resource management. Here we compile high-resolution time-series (2000–2015) of water withdrawal and consumption inventories for China’s thermoelectric power sector to identify the driving forces behind changing water use patterns, and reveal the spatial distribution of thermoelectric water stress. We show that freshwater withdrawal has been decoupled from thermoelectric power generation growth at the national level due to the increased adoption of air-cooling and seawater-cooling technologies and advanced large generating units as well as water use efficiency improvements in this period. Nevertheless, the construction of large coal-fired power generation hubs has increased water stress in many arid and water-scarce catchments in northwestern regions of China. The westward development of the power industry necessitates water-withdrawal caps and the integration of water risk analysis into energy planning.

Suggested Citation

  • Chao Zhang & Lijin Zhong & Jiao Wang, 2018. "Decoupling between water use and thermoelectric power generation growth in China," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 3(9), pages 792-799, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natene:v:3:y:2018:i:9:d:10.1038_s41560-018-0236-7
    DOI: 10.1038/s41560-018-0236-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-018-0236-7
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41560-018-0236-7?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natene:v:3:y:2018:i:9:d:10.1038_s41560-018-0236-7. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.