IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i22p15977-d1280952.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exploring Virtual Water Network Dynamics of China’s Electricity Trade: Insights into the Energy–Water Nexus

Author

Listed:
  • Hang Lei

    (College of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, The Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Xin Zhang

    (College of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, The Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China)

  • Xinyi Han

    (College of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, The Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

Abstract

The escalating challenges regarding the sustainable utilization of coupled energy and water resources require the implementation of synergistic management. Electricity-related virtual water flows could result in the transfer of freshwater vulnerability and environmental inequalities. Aiming to systematically characterize its holistic patterns, network structure and formation mechanisms, we constructed a virtual water network for electricity trade in China based on provincial lifecycle water footprints; portrayed the statistical features, structural stability and interregional equilibrium using Complex Network Analysis (CNA); and introduced the Quadratic Assignment Procedure (QAP) to gain socio-environmental insights into the driving factors. The results show that the virtual water transferred with China’s interprovincial electricity trade increased from 851.24 million m 3 to 3441.58 million m 3 from 2006–2020. Eastern, developed provinces with a high electricity demand have effectively relieved their water stress by expanding import sources, but the transfer of water resource benefits from western exporting regions (especially in the arid northern provinces) is irreversible. The current electricity market forces reflect the scarcity of energy and capital factors in the context of China’s interprovincial trade, but not the scarcity of water resources. Consequently, we proposed integrated management strategies including strengthening sectoral collaboration, optimizing energy-use structures and establishing ecological compensation mechanisms to build a more water-efficient future power system.

Suggested Citation

  • Hang Lei & Xin Zhang & Xinyi Han, 2023. "Exploring Virtual Water Network Dynamics of China’s Electricity Trade: Insights into the Energy–Water Nexus," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-21, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:22:p:15977-:d:1280952
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/22/15977/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/22/15977/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zheng, Xinzhu & Wang, Can & Cai, Wenjia & Kummu, Matti & Varis, Olli, 2016. "The vulnerability of thermoelectric power generation to water scarcity in China: Current status and future scenarios for power planning and climate change," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 444-455.
    2. Chai, Li & Liao, Xiawei & Yang, Liu & Yan, Xianglin, 2018. "Assessing life cycle water use and pollution of coal-fired power generation in China using input-output analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 231(C), pages 951-958.
    3. Guo, Ruipeng & Zhu, Xiaojie & Chen, Bin & Yue, Yunli, 2016. "Ecological network analysis of the virtual water network within China’s electric power system during 2007–2012," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 110-121.
    4. Fracasso, Andrea, 2014. "A gravity model of virtual water trade," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 215-228.
    5. Song, Jianfeng & Yin, Yali & Xu, Hang & Wang, Yubao & Wu, Pute & Sun, Shikun, 2020. "Drivers of domestic grain virtual water flow: A study for China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 239(C).
    6. Christopher M. Chini & Lucas A. Djehdian & William N. Lubega & Ashlynn S. Stillwell, 2018. "Virtual water transfers of the US electric grid," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 3(12), pages 1115-1123, December.
    7. Zhang, Chao & Zhong, Lijin & Liang, Sai & Sanders, Kelly T. & Wang, Jiao & Xu, Ming, 2017. "Virtual scarce water embodied in inter-provincial electricity transmission in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 438-448.
    8. Ane Cristina Figueiredo Pereira de Faria & Issa Ibrahim Berchin & Jéssica Garcia & Silvia Natália Barbosa Back & José Baltazar Salgueirinho Osório de Andrade Guerra, 2016. "Understanding food security and international security links in the context of climate change," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(6), pages 975-997, June.
    9. Chini, Christopher M. & Stillwell, Ashlynn S., 2020. "The changing virtual water trade network of the European electric grid," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    10. Liao, Xiawei & Zhao, Xu & Hall, Jim W. & Guan, Dabo, 2018. "Categorising virtual water transfers through China’s electric power sector," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 226(C), pages 252-260.
    11. Zhang, Yiyi & Hou, Shengren & Chen, Shaoqing & Long, Huihui & Liu, Jiefeng & Wang, Jiaqi, 2021. "Tracking flows and network dynamics of virtual water in electricity transmission across China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    12. Hoekstra, A.Y., 2009. "Human appropriation of natural capital: A comparison of ecological footprint and water footprint analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(7), pages 1963-1974, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Li, Junjie & Yan, Yulong & Wang, Yirong & Zhang, Yifu & Shao, Lianwei & Li, Menggang, 2024. "Spatial-successive transfer of virtual scarcity water along China's coal-based electric chain," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).
    2. Liu, Yitong & Chen, Bin & Wei, Wendong & Shao, Ling & Li, Zhi & Jiang, Weizhong & Chen, Guoqian, 2020. "Global water use associated with energy supply, demand and international trade of China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    3. Jin, Yi & Behrens, Paul & Tukker, Arnold & Scherer, Laura, 2021. "The energy-water nexus of China’s interprovincial and seasonal electric power transmission," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 286(C).
    4. Zhang, Yiyi & Hou, Shengren & Chen, Shaoqing & Long, Huihui & Liu, Jiefeng & Wang, Jiaqi, 2021. "Tracking flows and network dynamics of virtual water in electricity transmission across China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    5. 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).
    6. Wang, Like & Fan, Yee Van & Jiang, Peng & Varbanov, Petar Sabev & Klemeš, Jiří Jaromír, 2021. "Virtual water and CO2 emission footprints embodied in power trade: EU-27," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    7. Ana Luiza Fontenelle & Erik Nilsson & Ieda Geriberto Hidalgo & Cintia B. Uvo & Drielli Peyerl, 2022. "Temporal Understanding of the Water–Energy Nexus: A Literature Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-21, April.
    8. Cai, Beiming & Jiang, Ling & Liu, Yu & Wang, Feng & Zhang, Wei & Yan, Xu & Ge, Zhenzi, 2023. "Regional trends and socioeconomic drivers of energy-related water use in China from 2007 to 2017," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    9. Zhu, Yongnan & Ke, Jing & Wang, Jianhua & Liu, He & Jiang, Shan & Blum, Helcio & Zhao, Yong & He, Guohua & Meng, Yuan & Su, Jian, 2020. "Water transfer and losses embodied in the West–East electricity transmission project in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    10. Jin, Yi & Scherer, Laura & Sutanudjaja, Edwin H. & Tukker, Arnold & Behrens, Paul, 2022. "Climate change and CCS increase the water vulnerability of China's thermoelectric power fleet," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    11. Li, Mingquan & Dai, Hancheng & Xie, Yang & Tao, Ye & Bregnbaek, Lars & Sandholt, Kaare, 2017. "Water conservation from power generation in China: A provincial level scenario towards 2030," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 580-591.
    12. Zhang, Yiyi & Fang, Jiake & Wang, Saige & Yao, Huilu, 2020. "Energy-water nexus in electricity trade network: A case study of interprovincial electricity trade in China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    13. Xuebing Yao & Xu Tang & Arash Farnoosh & Cuiyang Feng, 2021. "Quantifying virtual water scarcity risk transfers of energy system in China," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 23(4), pages 945-969, October.
    14. Zhang, Yiyi & Wang, Jiaqi & Zhang, Linmei & Liu, Jiefeng & Zheng, Hanbo & Fang, Jiake & Hou, Shengren & Chen, Shaoqing, 2020. "Optimization of China’s electric power sector targeting water stress and carbon emissions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 271(C).
    15. Yan, Xia & Jie, Wu & Minjun, Shi & Shouyang, Wang & Zhuoying, Zhang, 2022. "China's regional imbalance in electricity demand, power and water pricing - From the perspective of electricity-related virtual water transmission," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    16. Chini, Christopher M. & Stillwell, Ashlynn S., 2020. "The changing virtual water trade network of the European electric grid," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    17. Zhang, Haoran & Li, Ruixiong & Cai, Xingrui & Zheng, Chaoyue & Liu, Laibao & Liu, Maodian & Zhang, Qianru & Lin, Huiming & Chen, Long & Wang, Xuejun, 2022. "Do electricity flows hamper regional economic–environmental equity?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 326(C).
    18. Yuqi Su & Yi Liang & Li Chai & Zixuan Han & Sai Ma & Jiaxuan Lyu & Zhiping Li & Liu Yang, 2019. "Water Degradation by China’s Fossil Fuels Production: A Life Cycle Assessment Based on an Input–Output Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-12, July.
    19. Yiyi Zhang & Shengren Hou & Jiefeng Liu & Hanbo Zheng & Jiaqi Wang & Chaohai Zhang, 2020. "Evolution of Virtual Water Transfers in China’s Provincial Grids and Its Driving Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-19, January.
    20. Logan, Lauren H. & Gupta, Rohini S. & Ando, Amy & Suski, Cory & Stillwell, Ashlynn S., 2021. "Quantifying tradeoffs between electricity generation and fish populations via population habitat duration curves," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 440(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:22:p:15977-:d:1280952. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.