Abstract
Water-energy nexus is an emerging issue that receives considerable attention in the world in general and in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in particular. The GCC countries depend mainly on energy generated from fossil fuels to produce drinking water. Yet, the amount of water-related energy use in Bahrain remains unexplored. This study aims to quantify the amount of energy used in the water supply cycle for the first time in Bahrain using quantitative methods. A bottom-up approach for data collection was adopted where data for the three main stages of the water supply in Bahrain: water production, water transmission, and water distribution were collected. Results show that the water production stage consumes about 97% of the total energy consumption in the water supply sector, followed by water transmission (2.9%) and water distribution (0.1%). Comparisons conducted with best practices in the world show that water desalination plants in Bahrain consume relatively high amounts of energy to produce water based on the desalination technology used. This study calls for focusing on the production stage in achieving energy efficiency since it is the largest consumer and where losses are occurring based on the benchmarking. This study also recommends investigating the share of electricity and thermal energy consumed in the water supply cycle in Bahrain in addition to the wastewater treatment sector. This is imperative to provide a holistic overview of the water-related energy use in Bahrain.
Highlights
IntroductionBoth of the water and energy sectors depend on each other in terms of supply and use
To achieve the study’s objectives, a quantitative bottom-up approach was applied to quantify the electricity consumption in the water supply cycle in Bahrain. This is made by the following steps: 1) The main stages of the water supply cycle in Bahrain were identified through review of Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) reports and face-to-face interviews conducted with the concerned policymakers and experts
The results showed that the majority of the water-related electricity use was associated with the water production stage, water desalination
Summary
Both of the water and energy sectors depend on each other in terms of supply and use. Throughout the lifecycle of water, an intensive amount of energy is used. The same thing applies to the lifecycle of energy where water is required at the different stages of the energy production [1]. Various factors contribute to shaping the relationship between water and energy. The footprint of energy in the water production phase is considerably high in comparison with other phases in the water lifecycle because it depends mainly on energy consumption [4]. Water transmission over large distances in addition to water distribution to the end users comes with a noticeable energy price tag [5]
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