Person:
Sesma Martín, Diego

Last Name

Sesma Martín

First Name

Diego

person.page.departamento

Economía

ORCID

0000-0002-6787-594X

person.page.upna

811138

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 13

Open Access
Tracking water for human activities: from the ivory tower to the ground
(Elsevier, 2021) Martínez Aldaya, Maite; Sesma Martín, Diego; Rubio Varas, María del Mar; Institute on Innovation and Sustainable Development in Food Chain - ISFOOD; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa
Water policy requires well established metrics for success. Precise metrics allow for quantifying progress and adjusting processes to produce the desired outcomes. We analyze the different schools of thought, nomenclatures and indicators developed for tracking water for human activities. After comparing a variety of terms related to water accounting used to serve the different purposes (environmental vs. ecological economics), we found that the different approaches to water tracking utilize identical terms to refer to distinctive concepts. The characterization of widely used terms such as 'water use' varies across different branches of literature. Different approaches to water measurement and its efficiency have an impact on water allocation. Our paper points out that the current definitions and methods for tracking water for human activities may offer contradictory advice over whether progress is being made towards desirable objectives, which may differ across stakeholders. This review aims at helping the transfer of academic results to empirical decision-making by discerning the differences among the variety of indicators available in the literature and their empirical implications. The ambiguity in the water terminology should be clarified before policy decisions can be useful in practice for guiding actions.
Open Access
The weak data on the water–energy nexus in Spain
(IWA Publishing, 2019) Sesma Martín, Diego; Rubio Varas, María del Mar; Ekonomia; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE; Economía
This paper focuses on the fact that the water–energy nexus remains an irrelevant issue on the energy policy agenda and on the priorities of the energy leaders in Spain. This is a striking fact given that this takes place in the most arid country in Europe, where almost two-thirds of electricity generation would have to be halted in the absence of an adequate water supply. We contend that part of the explanation may lie in the lack of official statistics and inconsistent sources of information on the water–energy nexus in Spain. To illustrate this point, we provide examples of the uneven data available for one of the most intensive freshwater users in the thermoelectric sector in Spain: nuclear power plants. Our research demonstrates the need for improved indicators as policy instruments in the water–energy nexus in Spain since it is impossible to improve what cannot be measured.
Open Access
Agua dulce para refrigeración: las necesidades hídricas de las centrales nucleares en España
(2019) Sesma Martín, Diego; Ekonomia; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE; Economía
Objetivo: hacer una primera estimación de las necesidades hídricas de las centrales nucleares españolas desde 1969 hasta 2014. El objetivo es, por tanto, calcular el uso consuntivo del agua (la cantidad de agua evaporada, transpirada o incorporada a la producción de energía) por las centrales nucleares españolas, así como la cantidad total de agua extraída y necesaria para el funcionamiento de las centrales nucleares.
Open Access
Freshwater for cooling needs: a long-run approach to the nuclear water footprint in Spain
(Elsevier, 2017) Sesma Martín, Diego; Rubio Varas, María del Mar; Ekonomia; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE; Economía
From the invention of the steam engine to the present, water has represented a significant input to the energy system, although this has been mostly ignored in the literature. In Spain, the most arid country in Europe, studies about water footprint typically just consider domestic, agricultural and industrial water uses, but water requirements for the electricity sector are omitted despite our dependence on thermal power. It has been demonstrated that for each available cooling technology, nuclear needs and consumption of water tend to be larger per MWh generated. We calculate a first approximation to the Spanish nuclear water footprint from 1969 to 2015. Our results show that while water consumed by Spanish nuclear power plants are around 3 m3 per capita/year, water withdrawals per capita/year are around 70 m3. Moreover, our analysis allows extracting conclusions focusing on a River Basins approach. What is the water impact of our nuclear power plants? Will water limit our energy future? These are some of the issues at stake.
Open Access
At the crossroad between green and thirsty: carbon emissions and water consumption of Spanish thermoelectricity generation, 1969–2019
(Elsevier, 2022) Cano-Rodríguez, Sara; Rubio Varas, María del Mar; Sesma Martín, Diego; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE
The energy sector is the main contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and one of the thirstiest sectors worldwide. Within the energy sector, thermoelectricity directly impacts on both emissions and water. This study assesses the evolution of the direct CO2 emissions and operational water consumption of the Spanish thermoelectricity generation from 1969 to 2019. Both carbon emissions and water consumption correlate over time, led by the trends in total thermal generation, although over the past half century, water requirements swelled far more than carbon emissions. This results in a long-term trade-off between carbon emissions and consumptive water use in relative terms: while the CO2 per thermal MWh generated halved since 1969 in Spain, the operational water consumption per MWh of thermoelectricity generated more than doubled due to switching from coal burning to nuclear and combined cycle technologies. We find no real trade-off in absolute levels. Although moving towards smaller environmental impacts since the mid-2000s, thermoelectricity remains one of the largest carbon emitters while becoming one of thirstiest energy technologies in Spain.
Open Access
Agua dulce para refrigeración: una visión a largo plazo de la huella hídrica de las centrales nucleares en España
(2016) Sesma Martín, Diego; Rubio Varas, María del Mar; Ekonomia; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE; Economía
Objectives: our research pioneers a first approximation to the water footprint of the Spanish nuclear power plants operating with freshwater from 1969 to the present. Our aim is to calculate the consumptive use of water (i.e. the amount of water evaporated, transpired, or incorporated in energy production) for Spanish nuclear power plants, and the amounts of water withdrawals required for running nuclear power plants. To sum up, what is the water impact of our nuclear power plants? Will water limit our energy future? Should water be considered when planning the electricity mix in the future? These are some of the questions to solve.
Open Access
The environmental Kuznets curve at the thermoelectricity-water nexus: empirical evidence from Spain
(International Water Association, 2022) Sesma Martín, Diego; Puente Ajovín, Miguel; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE; Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa
Energy and water are essential resources for ensuring economic growth. Both sectors are closely interrelated. Electricity generation is one of the most water-intensive activities worldwide and the cooling of thermoelectric power stations represents one of the largest uses of water within the energy sector. This study provides evidence on the existence of an Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) for water withdrawal at the thermoelectricity sector in Spain, one of the most arid countries in Europe, for the period 1970–2019, using the ARDL model. Our results show a direct rela- tionship between per capita income and water withdrawal until an estimated turning point is reached. In the Spanish case, further development has led to a reduction in water needs for the following reasons: 1) the use of less water-intensive cooling systems, 2) changes in generation technology.
Open Access
El papel del agua como recurso energético
(2019) Sesma Martín, Diego; Ekonomia; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE; Economía
Trabajo en el que se aborda la mutua dependencia agua-energía y el agua como fuente de producción eléctrica
Open Access
The use of water for power generation in the most arid country in Europe: the thermoelectric water footprint in Spain
(2019) Sesma Martín, Diego; Rubio Varas, María del Mar; Economía; Ekonomia
Esta tesis es un compendio de tres trabajos finalizados y publicados durante mi periodo como estudiante de doctorado. El primer trabajo muestra evidencia de la falta de estadísticas oficiales y la inconsistencia entre las diferentes fuentes de información que contienen información sobre las necesidades hídricas para producción de energía eléctrica de las centrales nucleares en España. La mejora de estos indicadores daría como resultado una mejor estimación de las necesidades de agua dulce para la generación de energía térmica y una mejor comprensión de esta problemática. El segundo artículo ofrece una estimación a largo plazo de las necesidades de agua dulce de las centrales nucleares españolas, las centrales más sedientas del sector termoeléctrico español, durante el período 1969-2014. El último artículo profundiza más en esta cuestión, analizando la evolución de los volúmenes de agua necesarios para producción de electricidad de las centrales nucleares y resto de térmicas convencionales ubicadas en la cuenca del Ebro, el mayor contribuyente a la generación eléctrica española. Todos estos resultados pretenden cubrir parte del vacío existente en la literatura española sobre el nexo agua-energía.
Open Access
The river’s light: water needs for thermoelectric power generation in the Ebro river basin, 1969–2015
(MDPI, 2019) Sesma Martín, Diego; Ekonomia; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE; Economía
Water is essential for almost all energy processes. This paper analyses the evolution of the cooling water needs of thermal power plants in the Ebro River basin, the largest contributor to the Spanish electricity grid, over the period 1969–2015. It makes several contributions. First, the cooling water needs for the plants are estimated. Second, these water requirements are compared to other water-using activities in the region. Third, a long-term water-use efficiency analysis is carried out. Finally, water-saving measures are proposed to counter possible future water scarcities. The results show that thermoelectric water consumption per capita is around 7 m3/year. Estimated future thermal power generation water withdrawals (around 500 m3 per capita/year) might compromise flows for other water uses in periods of drought.