Water Education Foundation
This is just one post in the Energy & Water Category
Click here to view all posts

Another reason we need energy efficiency: water scarcity

Posted by: Maven on May 23, 2009 at 8:55 am

From Reuters News:

It takes energy to treat and deliver water, and most of the time it takes water to create energy. This connection between water and energy has become clearer in recent months as IBM introduced its Smart Water offering (we know, we know, more “smart” tech), more U.S.-based desalination plants got the green light, and companies pushing water-related sensors, meters, and analytics testified before Congress.

Last week, the World Resources Institute issued a report examining the relationship between the two resources in greater detail, with a focus on the southeastern United States. WRI’s Eliot Metzger, a co-author of the study, told us that the stats they found in the southeast (two out of every three gallons of fresh water are used to produce energy, for example) can’t be extrapolated elsewhere, but provide a foundation for thinking about the role of water in all of the energy efficiency and smart grid talk going on right now.

“A really big part of it is education — people just don’t know that when they turn the faucet on, they’re using energy as well, not just water,” Metzger told us. Could that information be applied to the smart meter dashboards coming our way soon? “Absolutely, and it could really make a difference,” Metzger said. “I don’t know that water utilities are really ready yet for their own version of the smart grid, but if the smart electric grid provides a way for people to realize the connection between the two, that could be something.”

Read more from Reuters News by clicking here.

May 23, 2009 · Filed Under Energy & Water

Comments

Leave a Reply