Quantitative evaluation framework and application for regional water sustainability under local energy transition

Abstract

Quantitatively analysing the impacts on regional water sustainability under the energy transition is vital to regional water management and specific technology selection, which is also relevant to dealing with climate change. This study proposed a new multi-indicator evaluation framework for regional water sustainability under local energy transition to quantitatively evaluate the water withdrawal and water environment during the energy transition from a lifecycle perspective. An integrated regional energy‒water evaluation model was also developed based on the Low Emissions Analysis Platform with a combination of lifecycle assessment and water footprint analysis. Shaanxi province in China was then taken as a case study, and the impacts of its energy transition on regional water environmental sustainability, including quantity and quality, were investigated under five scenarios. Results showed that the large-scale application of carbon capture, utilisation and storage technology and bio-energy equipped with carbon capture and storage technology could have additional advantages regarding CO₂ emissions. However, such technologies exhibit a minimal effect on improving water environmental quality and reducing water demand for the first time due to the leakage of absorbents, CO₂ and other risky substances during capture, transportation and storage from a lifecycle perspective. This finding drives the innovation of related breakthrough technologies with the promotion of water and end-treatment technologies in the future.