Between 2015 and 2050 the Indian power
sector’s share of national water consumption
is projected to grow from 1.4 to nine per cent,
and by 2030, 70% of the country’s thermal
power plants are likely to experience increased
competition for water from agriculture,
industry and municipalities.
Power sector choking
“Water shortages shut down power plants
across India every year,” said O P Agarwal
of WRI India. “When power plants rely on
water sourced from scarce regions, they put
electricity generation at risk and leave less
water for cities, farms and families. Without
urgent action, water will become a chokepoint
for India’s power sector.”
Between 2013 and 2016 14 of India’s 20 largest
thermal utility companies experienced one or
more shutdowns because of water shortages.
WRI calculates that shutdowns cost these
companies over INR 91 billion ($1.4 billion) in
potential revenue from the sale of power.
It says water shortages cancelled out more
than 20% of the country’s growth in electricity
generation in 2015 and 2016.
The report offers solutions, including notably
a move towards solar and wind energy. India
already has a target for 40% of its power to
come from renewables by 2030, under the
Paris Agreement on climate change.
“Renewable energy is a viable solution to
India’s water-energy crisis,” said Deepak
Krishnan, co-author of the report. “Solar
PV and wind power can thrive in the same
water-stressed areas where thermal plants
struggle...”
A policy brief produced by WRI and the
International Renewable Energy Agency details
ways for India’s power sector to reduce water
usage and carbon emissions by 2030.
“The challenge exceeds anything a major city
has had to face anywhere in the world since
the Second World War or 9/ll”
In Africa the dangers of water scarcity for one
of the continent’s best-known cities, Cape
Town, are imminent and, some believe, almost
apocalyptic.
The city faces the prospect within three
months of becoming the world’s first major
AgriKultuur |AgriCulture
city to run out of water, al-Jazeera reports.
It says the city’s water supplies are now so low
that in late April it will declare “Day Zero”, the
day when its reservoirs fall below a combined
capacity of 13.5%.
This will mean Cape Town turning off the taps,
except in the poorest neighbourhoods, and
installing around 200 water collection sites
across the city.
Water usage in the Western Cape province,
which includes Cape Town, is now limited to
a daily ration of 87 litres per person. If Day
Zero dawns, that will drop to about 25 litres.
The World Health Organisation says about 20
litres should be enough “to take care of basic
hygiene needs and basic food hygiene”.
Rains start later
The province has had three years of
drought. Kevin Winter, a senior lecturer in
environmental science at the University of
Cape Town, told al-Jazeera that as a winter
rainfall region, people would normally expect
rainfall to start somewhere around April.
“But that’s no longer the case, it comes a whole
lot later at the end of June, or in early July, if
we are lucky,” he said. “We are experiencing a
rapid change in our weather patterns, which is
increasingly evident of a climate change…”
Bridgetti Lim Bandi, who has lived in the city
all her life, said Cape Town’s rainfall pattern
had changed dramatically within the last two
decades. “We don’t have a traditional Cape
Town winter anymore,” she told al-Jazeera.
Helen Zille is premier of the Western Cape
province. She wrote on 22 January in the Daily
Maverick: “The question that dominates my
waking hours now is: When Day Zero arrives‚
how do we make water accessible and prevent
anarchy?
“And if there is any chance of still preventing
it‚ what is it we can do? ...the challenge
exceeds anything a major city has had to face
anywhere in the world since the Second World
War or 9/ll.”
Acknowledgement
Climate News Network: https://
climatenewsnetwork.net/23742-2/
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