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Strengthening the global water supply through a decarbonised global desalination sector and improved irrigation systems

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  • Caldera, Upeksha
  • Breyer, Christian

Abstract

This study analyses the role that renewable energy based desalination, in conjunction with improvements in water use efficiency in the irrigation sector, can play towards securing future global water supplies. It is found that the global desalination demand by 2050 can be reduced as much as 30% and 60%, depending on the irrigation efficiency growth rate. India, China, USA, Pakistan and Iran account for between 56% and 62% of the global desalination demand. Decarbonising the desalination sector by 2050, will result in global average levelised cost of water decreasing from about 2.4 €/m3 in 2015, considering unsubsidised fossil fuel costs, to approximately 1.05 €/m3 by 2050, with most regions in the cost range of 0.32 €/m3 – 1.66 €/m3. Low-cost renewable electricity, in particular solar photovoltaics and battery storage, is found to form the backbone of a sustainable and clean global water supply, supported by measures to increase irrigation efficiency. The results show the untapped relationships between the irrigation and decarbonised desalination sector that can be utilised to strengthen the global water supply for the decades to come and meet United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

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  • Caldera, Upeksha & Breyer, Christian, 2020. "Strengthening the global water supply through a decarbonised global desalination sector and improved irrigation systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:200:y:2020:i:c:s0360544220306149
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2020.117507
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    2. Upeksha Caldera & Christian Breyer, 2023. "Afforesting arid land with renewable electricity and desalination to mitigate climate change," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 6(5), pages 526-538, May.
    3. Osorio-Aravena, Juan Carlos & Aghahosseini, Arman & Bogdanov, Dmitrii & Caldera, Upeksha & Ghorbani, Narges & Mensah, Theophilus Nii Odai & Haas, Jannik & Muñoz-Cerón, Emilio & Breyer, Christian, 2023. "Synergies of electrical and sectoral integration: Analysing geographical multi-node scenarios with sector coupling variations for a transition towards a fully renewables-based energy system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    4. Gulagi, Ashish & Alcanzare, Myron & Bogdanov, Dmitrii & Esparcia, Eugene & Ocon, Joey & Breyer, Christian, 2021. "Transition pathway towards 100% renewable energy across the sectors of power, heat, transport, and desalination for the Philippines," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    5. Maurizio Filippo Acciarri & Silvia Checola & Paolo Galli & Giacomo Magatti & Silvana Stefani, 2021. "Water Resource Management and Sustainability: A Case Study in Faafu Atoll in the Republic of Maldives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-17, March.
    6. Aghahosseini, Arman & Solomon, A.A. & Breyer, Christian & Pregger, Thomas & Simon, Sonja & Strachan, Peter & Jäger-Waldau, Arnulf, 2023. "Energy system transition pathways to meet the global electricity demand for ambitious climate targets and cost competitiveness," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 331(C).
    7. Osorio-Aravena, Juan Carlos & Aghahosseini, Arman & Bogdanov, Dmitrii & Caldera, Upeksha & Ghorbani, Narges & Mensah, Theophilus Nii Odai & Khalili, Siavash & Muñoz-Cerón, Emilio & Breyer, Christian, 2021. "The impact of renewable energy and sector coupling on the pathway towards a sustainable energy system in Chile," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    8. Abdelrahman Azzuni & Arman Aghahosseini & Manish Ram & Dmitrii Bogdanov & Upeksha Caldera & Christian Breyer, 2020. "Energy Security Analysis for a 100% Renewable Energy Transition in Jordan by 2050," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-26, June.
    9. ElSayed, Mai & Aghahosseini, Arman & Caldera, Upeksha & Breyer, Christian, 2023. "Analysing the techno-economic impact of e-fuels and e-chemicals production for exports and carbon dioxide removal on the energy system of sunbelt countries – Case of Egypt," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 343(C).
    10. Ram, Manish & Gulagi, Ashish & Aghahosseini, Arman & Bogdanov, Dmitrii & Breyer, Christian, 2022. "Energy transition in megacities towards 100% renewable energy: A case for Delhi," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 578-589.
    11. ElSayed, Mai & Aghahosseini, Arman & Breyer, Christian, 2023. "High cost of slow energy transitions for emerging countries: On the case of Egypt's pathway options," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 107-126.
    12. Bogdanov, Dmitrii & Gulagi, Ashish & Fasihi, Mahdi & Breyer, Christian, 2021. "Full energy sector transition towards 100% renewable energy supply: Integrating power, heat, transport and industry sectors including desalination," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    13. Keiner, Dominik & Gulagi, Ashish & Breyer, Christian, 2023. "Energy demand estimation using a pre-processing macro-economic modelling tool for 21st century transition analyses," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).
    14. Bogdanov, Dmitrii & Ram, Manish & Aghahosseini, Arman & Gulagi, Ashish & Oyewo, Ayobami Solomon & Child, Michael & Caldera, Upeksha & Sadovskaia, Kristina & Farfan, Javier & De Souza Noel Simas Barbos, 2021. "Low-cost renewable electricity as the key driver of the global energy transition towards sustainability," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    15. Lopez, Gabriel & Aghahosseini, Arman & Child, Michael & Khalili, Siavash & Fasihi, Mahdi & Bogdanov, Dmitrii & Breyer, Christian, 2022. "Impacts of model structure, framework, and flexibility on perspectives of 100% renewable energy transition decision-making," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).

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