Veolia Water Technologies by GineersNow Engineering Magazine GineersNow Engineering Magazine September 2016 | Page 84

THE
DAYS OF
ABUNDANT
POWER
AND WATER
MAY BE
OVER
by Raymond Gerard del Valle
For most of us, having electricity and
water in our homes, schools or offices
is a foregone conclusion. These days,
turning on the tap and finding that
water is freely flowing no longer
merits hurrahs and hallelujahs. In
the same vein, connecting a charger
to your mobile phone and seeing
the battery bar virtually fill up
should no longer come as a surprise.
Indeed, water and electricity are
ubiquitous, that life without them is
unimaginable.
This, however, is not the case for
everyone. Currently, there are
650 million people without access
to water, and more than a billion
without access to electricity. And
with the continuous growth in the
world’s population, which spurs a
proportional increase in the demand
for power and water, meeting the
future demand for the two assets
is set to become more challenging
in the coming years. As power and
water are intertwined in more ways
than one, a collective analysis of
both holds the potential to greatly
help stakeholders in coming up with
sustainable solutions to the world’s
escalating utility challenges.
How power and water are
intertwined
Photo by Energy.gov
Water for power
All types of electric power generation
involve the use of water, either in
processing raw materials utilized in
the energy facilities, constructing
or maintaining power plants, or in
producing electricity. In fact, even
renewable sources of energy, like
solar and wind, which use very
little or no water in generating
energy, may still require water in the
development of raw materials used
in building turbines and solar panels.
84
SEPTEMBER 2016
Clean Water Technologies
Photo by AltaaqaGlobal