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
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
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
Water for whom?: unravelling the allocation of water storage capacity between irrigation and electricity uses in Spain during the 20th century
(Sociedad Española de Historia Agraria, SEHA, 2024-12-01) Bartolomé-Rodríguez, María Isabel; Rubio Varas, María del Mar; Sesma Martín, Diego; Economía; Ekonomia; Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE
Esta investigación examina la complejidad de la relación entre la asignación de recursos hídricos, la generación de energía y el regadío en España. Esta tarea se acomete tras el examen de la evolución del marco regulatorio de la asignación de recursos hidráulicos e introduciendo un enfoque novedoso para cuantificar los usos del agua. Por vez primera, se descompone la categoría de usos mixtos, que corresponde a la mayoría de los embalses de propiedad pública, gracias a la información disponible sobre las entidades que disponen no de la propiedad sino de las concesiones de agua. Nuestros resultados revelan el significativo peso de las compañías eléctricas privadas en la gestión de los recursos hidráulicos, pese a la prevalencia de la propiedad pública de las infraestructuras. La hegemonía hidroeléctrica en la asignación del agua contribuye a hacer patente la complejidad de la relación entre la propiedad pública y la gestión privada de las infraestructuras por parte de las compañías eléctricas. Finalmente, la contribución a una mejor comprensión de la singularidad histórica de la gobernanza del agua en España apuntala la necesidad de consideraciones más matizadas en el terreno de políticas que conciernen las relaciones entre agricultura y energía.

Sesma Martín, Diego

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