WATER, ENERGY & SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

1. WATER, ENERGY & SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ----------------------------------------------------------- Water Policy in the Americas Roundtable Organization of American States Presentation by Dr. Allan R. Hoffman U.S. Department of Energy June 15, 2000

2. OUTLINE OF PRESENTATION • Introductory material • Energy & Environment Security Initiative • DOE approach • Perspectives • Health issues • Message • Water pumping • Desalination • Water treatment • DOE capabilities • Conclusions • Contact information

3. ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL SECURITY At the U.S. Department of Energy, water issues are being addressed under the Energy & Environment Security Initiative, a formal joint activity with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Defense (and supported by the U.S. Department of State). The Initiative has two goals: • The identification of energy and other environmental stresses that could lead to political and economic instability and/or the outbreak of political conflict • The identification and implementation of measures that can help alleviate these stresses

4. DOE’s APPROACH TO WATER ISSUES • Water is needed for a number of end-uses: • drinking water • agriculture • power plants • industrial processes • sanitation • Optimal solutions can be obtained through a systems approach that integrates consideration of various end-uses, their energy requirements, and their associated economic and environmental costs

5. SOME INTERESTING PERSPECTIVES • “Many of the wars in this century were about oil, but wars of the next century will be about water.” (Ismail Serageldin, Vice President, World Bank, 1996) • “The next war in the Middle East will be over water, not politics.” (Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Secretary General, United Nations, 1991)

6. BASIC FACTS: HEALTH ISSUES • More than a billion people lack access to safe drinking water • About 4 million children below age 5 die each year from waterborne diarrheal diseases (400 per hour) • About 60 million children annually reach maturity stunted due to severe nutrient loss/complications from multiple diarrheal episodes • About 1 billion people boil their drinking water at home

7. A SIMPLE MESSAGE • How to deal with water issues will be a major global concern in the 21st century • An important part of addressing water issues is having the energy needed to transport, treat or desalinate water resources • A systems approach (e.g., addressing water needs on a regional basis) can produce optimal solutions • Water and energy are key components of sustainable economic development, and are inextricably linked

8. PUMPING WATER Case Studies from the USAID/USDOE Renewable Energy Program in Mexico • USAID development goals: • improved agriculture, health, education and environmental protection • rural community development • electrification • potable water • Cost-effective renewable energy systems can help meet development goals

9. LIFE-CYCLE COST ANALYSISSolar Powered vs. Conventional Water Pumping Systems

10. TWO CASE STUDIES • El Jeromin, Chihuahua: • Cattle ranch – “chamizo” grown for cattle feed • Water required: 15,000 liters per day • Agua Blanca, BCS • Livestock/irrigation ranch (1001 hectares) • Water required: 25,000 liters per day

11. Life-Cycle Cost AnalysisCase Study-El Jeromín, Chihuahua

12. Case Study - El Jeromín, ChihuahuaResults • After 2 years, the PV system represents a lower overall expense to the user

13. Life-Cycle Cost AnalysisCase Study-Agua Blanca, BCS

14. Case Study - Agua Blanca, BCSResults • Six years after installation, the PV system represents a lower overall expense

15. DESALINATION • A process for removing dissolved minerals (including, but not limited to, salt) from seawater, brackish water, or treated wastewater • A number of technologies have have been developed for desalination: reverse osmosis, electrodialysis, vacuum freezing, distillation, capacitive deionization.

16. DESALINATION (continued) • While much can be done to improve management of existing water supplies, there is broad agreement that extensive use of desalination will be required to meet the water needs of a growing world population • At present, only 0.36% of the world’s waters in rivers, lakes and swamps is sufficiently accessible to be considered a fresh water resource

17. KEY DESALINATION TECHNOLOGIES • Reverse Osmosis: • pressure is applied to intake water, forcing water molecules through semipermeable membrane. Salt molecules do not pass through membrane. Product water that passes through is potable. • On average, energy (electrical) accounts for 41% of total cost. • 5,800-12,000 kWh/AF (4.7-5.7 kWh/m3)* • Distillation: • intake water heated to produce steam. Steam is condensed to produce product water with low salt concentration. • energy requirements for distillation technologies (electrical and thermal) are higher than for reverse osmosis technologies. • 28,500-33,000 kWh/AF (23-27 kWh/m3)* ------------------------------------------------------------------ * does not include energy required for pre-treatment, brine disposal and water transport

18. KEY DESALINATION FACTS • Energy costs are a principal barrier to greater use of desalination technologies (disposal of residual brine is another) • More than 120 countries are now using some desalted seawater, but mostly in the Persian Gulf where energy costs are low (oil, natural gas) • Cost of seawater desalination using reverse osmosis has fallen: • $23 per 1,000 gallons in 1978 ($5.26/m3) • $2 per 1,000 gallons ($0.55/m3) today (Tampa: 35 million m3/day)

19. UV Waterworks: Motivation • 1993 “Bengal Cholera” outbreak in India, Bangladesh and Thailand • Existing alternatives for water treatment often have significant drawbacks • boiling (over biomass cookstove) • chlorination • reverse osmosis

20. UV Waterworks: Design Criteria • Energy efficient • Low cost • Reliable under field conditions • No overdose risk • Off-the-shelf components • Can treat unpressurized water • Rapid throughput • Low maintenance • Simple design/fabricable in developing countries

21. UV Waterworks: How It Works • Water flows by gravity under a UV lamp for 12 seconds • UV radiation kills 99.9999% of bacteria, 99.99% of viruses • No change in taste or odor/no chemicals introduced • Disinfects 4 gallons (15 liters) per minute

22. UV Waterworks: How It Works(continued) • Power requirement: 60 watts • Disinfects 1,000 liters of water for less than 5 cents (annual cost per person: 14 cents) • Unit needs maintenance only once every six months – performed by local technicians • Energy consumption 6,000 times less than boiling water over cookstove • Units extensively tested, commercially available • Portable version developed for disaster-relief

24. HOW CAN THE U.S. DOE HELP? DOE has a number of technologies and capabilities that would be useful in addressing water quantity and quality issues: -UV Waterworks unit developed at DOE national laboratory (LBNL) - Capacitive Deionization (CDI) process under development at another DOE laboratory (LLNL) • modeling and simulation (using advanced computer capabilities) - monitoring, sensors and telemetry for remote monitoring

25. HOW CAN THE U.S. DOE HELP?(continued) • Characterization of water resources • Site remediation, pollution prevention and waste treatment (to be discussed at September meeting of the Roundtable) • Application of renewable electric technologies to desalination and water pumping and treatment • Planning and management of large projects

26. CONCLUSIONS • Water issues will be a major global concern in the 21st century, and a potential source of conflict • Addressing water issues requires joint consideration of a broad range of issues – health, agricultural, economic, political and energy • Water and energy issues are closely linked • Renewable energy is likely to play a major role in addressing water issues, especially in developing countries • Where applicable, a systems approach will yield optimum results

27. CONTACT INFORMATION NAME TEL. # E-MAIL