The river’s light: water needs for thermoelectric power generation in the Ebro river basin, 1969–2015

Sesma Martín, Diego

Publication:
The river’s light: water needs for thermoelectric power generation in the Ebro river basin, 1969–2015

dc.contributor.author	Sesma Martín, Diego
dc.contributor.department	Ekonomia	eu
dc.contributor.department	Institute for Advanced Research in Business and Economics - INARBE	en
dc.contributor.department	Economía	es_ES
dc.date.accessioned	2019-04-17T06:57:49Z
dc.date.available	2019-04-17T06:57:49Z
dc.date.issued	2019
dc.description.abstract	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.	en
dc.description.sponsorship	This research was supported by the Spanish Government through the MINECO research projects, references HAR2014-53825-R and HAR2017-86086-R. The author also benefits from a research contract from Spanish Government through MINECO reference BES-2015-074128.	en
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf	en
dc.format.mimetype	application/zip	en
dc.identifier.doi	10.3390/w11030441
dc.identifier.issn	2073-4441
dc.identifier.uri	https://academica-e.unavarra.es/handle/2454/32882
dc.language.iso	eng	en
dc.publisher	MDPI	en
dc.relation.ispartof	Water 2019, 11, 441	en
dc.relation.projectID	info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/MINECO//HAR2014-53825-R/ES/	en
dc.relation.projectID	info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/AEI/Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2013-2016/HAR2017-86086-R/ES/	en
dc.relation.publisherversion	https://doi.org/10.3390/w11030441
dc.rights	© 2019 by the author. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY)	en
dc.rights.accessRights	Acceso abierto / Sarbide irekia	es
dc.rights.accessRights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess	en
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/./
dc.subject	Thermoelectricity	en
dc.subject	Water consumption	en
dc.subject	Water withdrawals	en
dc.subject	Cooling technologies	en
dc.subject	Ebro river	en
dc.title	The river’s light: water needs for thermoelectric power generation in the Ebro river basin, 1969–2015	en
dc.type	Artículo / Artikulua	es
dc.type	info:eu-repo/semantics/article	en
dc.type.version	Versión publicada / Argitaratu den bertsioa	es
dc.type.version	info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion	en
dspace.entity.type	Publication
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