An integrated, socially equitable design for sustainable water and energy supply in Iran

Abstract

This work deals with two interconnected transitions happening in the Middle East, firstly, the transition towards energy systems with a high share of variable renewable resources; and secondly, the transition towards water systems with a share of supply coming from desalination. This study aims to assess the impacts of these transition plans on social equity in a case study of the southern coast of Iran, where the community faces severe water scarcity and there is ready access to seawater for desalination. The main contribution of this research is to consider social equity as a key factor in the nexus evaluation of energy-water transition plans. Considering different system types (integrated versus separated) and configurations (centralized or decentralized, components, and technologies), it proposes interconnected water-energy transition scenarios with consideration of spatial and temporal changes. In order to achieve more realistic and sustainable water-energy supply planning, the study focuses on a quantitative distributive justice evaluation of the proposed scenarios, with consideration of related social equity theories and Iran's particularities, using the following proxy indicators: subsidies, taxation, job creation, NOx emissions, as well as environmental concerns. In the proposed scenarios with decentralized desalination, shifting a portion of job creation and subsidies for desalination and their renewable energy supply from urban areas and reallocating them to rural areas led to a balance in the distribution of benefits and burdens between rural and urban households, while addressing the issue of excluding rural households from the benefits and opportunities provided by renewable-powered desalination projects.