At a basic level, electricity generation requires water, and water treatment and transportation use electricity. This interdependency, often referred to as the “Water–Energy Nexus”, has been increasingly highlighted as an important issue for future planning and strategic policy considerations. In the last decade, many countries have faced severe shortage of water and energy supplies. This trouble has presented the governments with new challenges; one of the most significant issues in this field, is which type of water resources and power production technology is worthwhile investing and focusing more without threating security of water and energy resources, simultaneously. Considering Iran’s case study with heavy dependency on fossil fuels in electricity generation plus depletion of historically available water resources emphasizes this fact that absence of an integrated decision-making on water and energy infrastructure could lead to an irreversible national disaster. In this research, after an extensive discussion about the Iran’s water and energy sector and their management structure, by the means of in-depth interviews with three key persons in three important water and energy subsectors, energy consumption in water sector and water consumption and withdrawal in energy sector- “Thermoelectric”, “Hydropower” and “Renewable Energies” in specific - have been described. Furthermore, it is concluded that there are golden opportunities in both policy and technology sides of water and energy sectors in which could results in improvement of functionality and security of water and energy systems. Moreover, several general solutions in agricultural, industrial and residential sectors have been recommended.
La produzione di elettricità richiede acqua, mentre il trattamento ed il trasporto di acqua richiedono energia elettrica. Questa interdipendenza, spesso chiamata “Water-Energy Nexus”, è stata nel tempo considerata di importanza sempre maggiore a livello di decisioni strategiche e politiche. Negli ultimi anni, diversi Paesi hanno sofferto a causa della scarsità di acqua o di energia. Ciò ha posto i governi di fronte a nuove sfide, in particolare con riferimento a quali mezzi e tecnologie impiegare per ridurre il consumo di acqua nel processo di produzione di energia elettrica, senza per questo ridurre la produzione energetica. Nello specifico, il presente caso studio analizza l’Iran. In Iran, infatti, la produzione di energia elettrica è legata per la gran parte all’utilizzo di combustibili fossili, e questo processo in sé sta consumando in larga misura le risorse idriche del Paese. Tutto questo in un contesto in cui la mancanza di decisioni strategiche da parte del governo nel lungo andare può avere ripercussioni serie per il Paese, soprattutto mettendo a repentaglio le proprie risorse idriche. Nello svilupparsi del caso di studio, sono state intervistate figure chiave del mondo del business iraniano nel settore termoelettrico, idroelettrico e delle risorse rinnovabili al fine di analizzare il settore energetico e il consumo di acqua nel Paese, nonché i processi decisionali che riguardano questi settori. Questo ha portato alla conclusione che vi sono importanti opportunità offerte dalla tecnologia attuale per migliorare l’accesso all’acqua e ridurre il consumo di questa risorsa, oggi ampiamente utilizzata per produrre elettricità da fonti fossili. A riguardo, un intervento di policy adeguato può supportare tutto il settore elettrico a svilupparsi in modo più sostenibile ed efficace, consumando meno acqua nei processi di produzione. Inoltre, questa tesi lascia spazio ad approfondimenti in alti settori dove il consumo di acqua è rilevante, quali quello agricolo, industriale e residenziale.
Iran's water-energy nexus : a critical perspective
KOHANDEL, MOHAMMADAMIN
2017/2018
Abstract
At a basic level, electricity generation requires water, and water treatment and transportation use electricity. This interdependency, often referred to as the “Water–Energy Nexus”, has been increasingly highlighted as an important issue for future planning and strategic policy considerations. In the last decade, many countries have faced severe shortage of water and energy supplies. This trouble has presented the governments with new challenges; one of the most significant issues in this field, is which type of water resources and power production technology is worthwhile investing and focusing more without threating security of water and energy resources, simultaneously. Considering Iran’s case study with heavy dependency on fossil fuels in electricity generation plus depletion of historically available water resources emphasizes this fact that absence of an integrated decision-making on water and energy infrastructure could lead to an irreversible national disaster. In this research, after an extensive discussion about the Iran’s water and energy sector and their management structure, by the means of in-depth interviews with three key persons in three important water and energy subsectors, energy consumption in water sector and water consumption and withdrawal in energy sector- “Thermoelectric”, “Hydropower” and “Renewable Energies” in specific - have been described. Furthermore, it is concluded that there are golden opportunities in both policy and technology sides of water and energy sectors in which could results in improvement of functionality and security of water and energy systems. Moreover, several general solutions in agricultural, industrial and residential sectors have been recommended.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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2018_4_KOHANDEL.pdf
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/139458