Water for electricity: resource scarcity, climate change and business in a finite world
This report examines the potential impact of low-carbon electricity generation technologies on water resources – and how these water considerations might shape renewable-generation choices. This report, based on research conducted as part of a partnership between the business leaders’ initiative 3C (Combat Climate Change) and the Stockholm Environment Institute, starts by exploring the ways in which a changing climate and associated hydrologic changes may affect electricity generation strategies – in particular, where future climate change may significantly decrease water availability. The goal of this report is to provide a general framing of the interplay between electricity management and water management that can inform the sort of site-specific analysis and planning that will be required to discover strategies that contribute to a low-carbon future without placing undue stress on water resources.