This talk will provide an overview of some of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s recent work addressing the energy-water nexus. Energy and water systems interact physically in many settings, including electricity generation, oil and gas production, and water treatment. The nexus will be impacted by future trends in climate and environment, energy technologies, and population, among other factors. Decision-making across the nexus takes place in a complex landscape, affected by water and energy policies at the national, regional, state, and local levels. There is great regional diversity in how these issues play out.<br/><br/>Over the past several years, DOE and partners have pursued work in technology R&D; data, modeling, and analysis; and policy analysis to improve understanding and address challenges within the nexus. Advances in cooling technologies, treatment technologies for nontraditional saline water, and wastewater treatment technologies help make energy systems more water efficient, water systems more energy efficient, and both systems more resilient. Enhanced synergy between energy and water systems can improve operational flexible. Integrated approaches to modeling can better reflect system interactions and interdependencies under weather extremes, as well as changes in population, technologies, economics and other dynamic factors. Connecting data sets and improving data quality can improve systems understanding and better inform decision-making.

Energy-water nexus at DOE

254th National Meeting (2017)

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