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Regional water footprints assessment for hydroelectricity generation in China

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  • Xie, Xiaomin
  • Jiang, Xiaoyun
  • Zhang, Tingting
  • Huang, Zhen

Abstract

Hydropower is a crucial no-fossil energy source, but it may cause environmental damages by huge water consumption mainly from evaporation. Facing great hydroelectric capacity and water scarcity issue in China, water loss from hydropower deserves further valuation. This study used water footprint (WF) concept, employed the gross and net approach, collected domestic data, and evaluated China’s national and regional WFs for hydroelectricity. Dam inventories were conducted covering 300 hydropower plants. WFs were calculated considering local evaporation, evapotranspiration, allocation for multi-purpose reservoirs, and were evaluated by China’s province for the first time. The results illustrated a significant regional variation. The average gross and net WF were at 3.021 (range of 0.08–122.31) L/kWh and 0.0763 (range of 0–9.638) L/kWh, respectively. WFs also showed a considerable seasonal variation with apparent regional characters. Impact of hydroelectric net WFs on local surface water was analyzed. Although hydropower WF was relatively low in China, several provinces with water scarcity issue were inappropriate for hydropower development. This research provided a comprehensive method for hydropower WF calculation and was supposed to utilize on specific region or plant. The regional results could also be a support for water management in electricity sector and for local water supply policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Xie, Xiaomin & Jiang, Xiaoyun & Zhang, Tingting & Huang, Zhen, 2019. "Regional water footprints assessment for hydroelectricity generation in China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 316-325.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:138:y:2019:i:c:p:316-325
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2019.01.089
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    2. Xie, Xiaomin & Jiang, Xiaoyun & Zhang, Tingting & Huang, Zhen, 2020. "Study on impact of electricity production on regional water resource in China by water footprint," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 165-178.
    3. Krarti, Moncef & Aldubyan, Mohammad, 2021. "Mitigation analysis of water consumption for power generation and air conditioning of residential buildings: Case study of Saudi Arabia," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 290(C).
    4. de Oliveira Bueno, Eduardo & Alves, Geovane J. & Mello, Carlos R., 2020. "Hydroelectricity water footprint in Parana Hydrograph Region, Brazil," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 596-612.
    5. Wei Xia & Yanyan Geng & Chunlei Zhao & Ming Tao & Xianpeng Qiu, 2025. "Towards Sustainable Minerals for Energy Transition: LCA Insights from an Open-Pit Molybdenum–Copper Mine," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-17, May.
    6. Jin, Yi & Behrens, Paul & Tukker, Arnold & Scherer, Laura, 2019. "Water use of electricity technologies: A global meta-analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    7. Mingdong Jiang & Xinxin Yu & Mengyuan Dai & Xiaomei Shen & Guanyu Zhong & Chunlai Yuan, 2024. "How do Multi-Scale Virtual Water Flows of Large River Economic Belts Impact Regional Water Distribution: Based on a Nested Input-Output Model," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 38(3), pages 1027-1043, February.
    8. Bilgili, Faik & Lorente, Daniel Balsalobre & Kuşkaya, Sevda & Ünlü, Fatma & Gençoğlu, Pelin & Rosha, Pali, 2021. "The role of hydropower energy in the level of CO2 emissions: An application of continuous wavelet transform," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 283-294.

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